Rainflakes
by Cylinder
Summary: Sakura's been kidnapped by the Akatsuki along with passive ANBU Captain Itachi. In between colliding emotions, twisted enemies, crude assassinations, salty tears and heart-warming smirks, love emerges in a whirlwind of crimson and fuschia...
1. Missions

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**Rainflakes**

_'Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

_-  
_

_Sure Sakura, you just keep on sucking while Naruto and Sasuke get stronger. It's every girls dream to be over-powered by a boy, _Sakura Haruno clenched her fair-skinned hand and gritted her teeth together as she walked towards the training field. The chilly wind blew through her trademark pink hair but it was ignored, her mind too focused on her thoughts.

"It's no one else's fault but your own that you have not surpassed them yet." Sakura froze in mid-thought, the all-too familiar robotic tone seeping through her ear drums. She turned her head slowly towards the tall Uchiha, who was leaning against a dead-looking tree.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." Sakura hissed at Sasuke's older brother. His stoic face was unfazed by the sharpness of her tone and he replied with nothing more than a simple blink.

"Oh, you didn't? I assumed you did. Talking to yourself is considered the first sign of lunacy is it not?" Itachi Uchiha raised an eyebrow mockingly. Sakura's already clenched fists tightened at her side and she resisted the urge to throw a punch at the smart bastard.

"I'm not in the mood to speak to you. I'm going to train," She narrowed her aqua eyes at him and turned away, dragging her feet depressingly towards the field. She was unaware of the abnormally large tree root sticking out of the ground and promptly tripped. An arm was cast around her waist before she could come into impact to the floor and she was quickly placed on her feet again. Her eyes rolled upwards and met dark orbs.

"I would say thanks if you wasn't such an asshole." Sakura spat at Itachi, the saviour of her dignity. He showed no sign of amusement on his face and remained as expressionless as ever, his mouth set in a thin line.

"I was simply going to suggest that I be a training partner. If you are so determined to pass these teammates of yours, it would be certainly a lot better if you had a worthy opponent."  
Sakura pouted and her brow set into a frown. "You know what, who cares? Let them be stronger than me. I can save their lives and that's a damn lot better than having bigger muscles." She flinched inwardly at the image of her with muscles. Itachi turned from her and began to walk away without so much as a notion of departure. Sakura's mouth fell open and she let out a huff of disbelief.

"Yeah Itachi, it was nice seeing you too." She rolled her eyes and turned away, walking off in the opposite direction.

~*~

Two kids ran after each other, laughing and giggling. Sakura dodged out of their way and growled in the back of her throat. The Uchiha compound was certainly a beautiful place, but the peace did not come as regularly as it should do. The laughter of children could sometimes be considered music to ears, but after 2 years of having to put up with it as she walked to Sasuke's house, it became annoying.

"Sakura, can I help you?" Sakura froze and turned to smile at the source of the voice. Sasuke was looking as... Sasuke-ish as ever and the resemblance to his brother always seemed to faze her. She found that her heart did not leap at the sight of his face, but a familiar blush formed on her cheeks.

"Lady Tsunade told us to meet her in the Hokage Tower. I think she has a mission for us." She explained. Sasuke face lit up despite his effort to suppress his expressions, causing Sakura to smile and leap for joy quietly too. It had been so long since Team Kakashi had a mission and she was beginning to think they had been forgotten. That was until she had received the request from the Hokage herself, telling her to bring Naruto, Sasuke and herself to the Tower.

"Doesn't it seem a little unusual that we're receiving a mission while Kakashi-sensei is away?" Sasuke mentioned as they began to walk towards Ichiraku's ramen shop where Naruto would no doubt be stuffing his face. Sakura frowned when she analyzed the situation too.

"Hmm. I guess you're right. Maybe they think we can handle it on our own?" Sakura enquired. Sasuke opened his mouth to reply but a loud voice interrupted.

"SAKURA, HEY OVER HERE!" Naruto was running towards them, noodles hanging from his mouth. Sakura sweat-dropped in embarrassment as people turned to look at them. Naruto giggled mischievously when he reached them and placed a hand behind his head.

"Looks like we got a mission from the old hag, eh? It's about time." He opened his eyes and grinned at Sakura, before turning to narrow his eyes at Sasuke. Sasuke either ignored it, or just simply had forgotten to acknowledge Naruto's existence. Sakura sighed and they all began to stroll towards the Hokage building, Naruto following closely behind Sasuke's back.

"What are you doing for your birthday, Sakura? How 'bout we throw a huge party?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows and Sakura smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I don't really care. It's just a normal day as far as I'm concerned." She shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Sasuke watched her every movement with a bored expression his face while Naruto's eyes widened at the cuteness of her actions.

"Well, I know what I'm going to get you Sakura. How about a nice pretty dress that-" His sentence was cut short when he received a hard blow to the head.

"Pervert," Sakura commented before huffing in victory and continuing to walk, Sasuke following behind. "Knucklehead," he muttered as he walked by, smirking. Naruto poked his tongue out at Sasuke's back and slowly followed, clutching his pounding head.

~*~

They all walked in relative silence up the stairs to Tsunade's office all apart from the short groans that passed out of Naruto's lips, his head still sporting a rather large lump. Sakura raised her fist to gently knock on the wooden door, but it swung open before she could even rest her knuckles on the surface. Her eyes immediately met with the ANBU Captain that was standing tall in the room. Tsunade has assumed her usual positioning at her desk, her hands entwined with each other and her elbows resting on the hard surface.

"I have a mission for the four of you-" She ignored the expression on Sakura's face. "-I would like you to all go in pursue of one particular man who seems to have struck up somewhat of an issue in the Sand." Sasuke's face had once again brightened at the thought of working on a mission with his brother and Naruto seemed relatively unperturbed, if a little peeved. Sakura stared up at Itachi Uchiha, who was maintaining an all-too familiar look of boredom on his face.

"May I ask why you chose us in particular?" Sakura's voice croaked and she coughed after asking Tsunade. Tsunade seemed to grimace slightly at the question.

"Well, to be quite frank, it was because there was no one else left." Everyone in the room faces' dropped comically, except of course Itachi's. Sakura raised her dropped head to look at Tsunade.

"Doesn't this mission seem a little advanced for us?" She mumbled. Tsunade stared intently at Sakura, shuffling in her seat. Sakura almost immediatley began to take back her comment.

"I would have thought my apprentice could take any mission I threw at her." A raised eyebrow from Sakura's powerful sensei caused Sakura to turn into a stammering mess.

"I-I'm not saying it's too difficult, I-I'm just wondering why you couldn't have just waited for another team." She blushed furiously when everyone's eyes in the room turned to gaze at her flushed face. Tsunade smirked in amusement and moved her arms down from the desk to shuffle some papers.

"We know the current location of the target and we need to immediately go into pursue. There isn't much time to talk so Itachi will tell you the details on the way." She nodded at the ANBU Captain, who was wearing the familiar olive green vest instead of his usual black and grey attire. Sakura kept her eyes focused on Tsunade when Sasuke's and Naruto's eyes automatically shifted to Itachi. A flash of amusement crossed on Tsunade's face.

"Well... Team Itachi, I wish you success on your mission. You may leave." She shuffled a few more papers and waved dismissively at the four shinobi. They nodded and left quickly, one after the other.

"Gaaaah, this mission sounds too easy." Naruto placed both his hands behind his head and his face switched to the disappointed expression he held after almost every mission he was given. Sasuke snorted lightly, but it was clear he seemed to silently agree.

"Underestimating the opponent is the first step to a shinobi's downfall." Itachi quoted in his dull voice. Sakura's mouth set into a thin line and her already-packed bag she had arranged earlier this morning weighed heavily on her back. They all stepped out of the Hidden Leaf village, faces looking as animated as ever at the thought of going out to do some real work.

"Woohoo! It feels great to be outta there." Naruto jeered, his wicked grin spreading across his face. Itachi stared at him.

"Should you feel that happy to leave your village every time you disembark on a mission?" He spoke dully. Sasuke stared up at his brother in silent admiration and Sakura sweat-dropped. What an exciting mission this will turn out to be...

----**----

**To Be Continued...**

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**A/N: So, it's just the beginning. I'm really not sure how long this will be and I'm aware quite a lot needs explaining about Itachi. All in due time, my friends... :D**

**Oh and please mention if anything sounds a little... odd. I'm not a great fan of Naruto so if I get something wrong, please mention it to me!**


	2. Firewood

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**Rainflakes**

_"Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

-

_3 days... with this. _Sakura openly stared at her arguing teammates and the uninterested ANBU Captain who had not even so much as flickered an eye in excitement. Sakura sighed and raised her head up to look at the full moon that had emerged from the dark blue blanket, revealing the odd twinkling star as it did so. For a moment, she was peaceful, happily gazing at the beautiful sight that had appeared before her. Until Naruto was pushed lightly into her, causing her to jump and stumble.

"Oh, that is IT. Sasuke, I swear I'm gonna..." Naruto walked towards the raven-haired teen and rolled one of his orange sleeves up. Sasuke smirked and turned to face him, his arms open wide at his side as though poised for a hug.

"Go for it, dumbass." He growled at the jinchuuriki. Naruto ran towards him at an amazing speed, his arm outstretched and an expression which showed pure hatred for the Uchiha. A flash of pink stood in between the two of them and Naruto instantly froze, his arm still comically extended in mid-air.

"I am not in a pleasant mood. I suggest you both stop being so immature before _I _lash out completely. And that won't be pretty." Sakura's face was hidden but the extreme tension coming from her raging body was enough to even cause Itachi to freeze. Everything was silent for a moment before Naruto moved his arm calmly back down to his side and Sakura took it as an acceptance of her message. She moved away from the two shinobi and strolled ahead quickly, aware that 3 pairs of eyes were watching her from behind.

Her body still shook with stress and anger at the two boys and the ANBU that seemed to be more boring than a lesson on the mathematical equations of different formations.

She threw one punch at a tree as she walked by it and a surge of relaxation ran through her when the tree in question flew backwards, taking half of the forest with it. Itachi's eyes widened slightly at the strength of her punch and ran his gaze along the 200ft long trench that had replaced the forest. No doubt it had used most of her chakra, but it was impressive all the same. He would even go so far as to say it was frightening.

He began to walk, following the kunoichi with the slightest twitch of amusement ghosting around his lips. Sasuke regained his composure and followed slowly afterwards, crossing his arms and setting his face into a mastered frown. Naruto was the last to continue walking, his face still frozen in a look of complete horror.

~*~

"We shall rest here." Everyone flinched at the sound of Itachi's voice when it broke the eerie silence that had settled between the old Team 7. Naruto let out a held in breath and crumpled to the floor, acquiring his usual pose of both hands behind his head before lying against the roots of a tree. Sasuke took a similar position and rested against a boulder.

Itachi dropped slowly to the floor and hugged his knees. Then he moved his eyes to Sakura and watched as she looked around awkwardly to decide where to sit.

_Next to Sasuke? No, he'll think I'm trying to flirt with him. Naruto? No way. He'll probably come onto me..._ She switched her gaze to the older Uchiha and found him watching her intently. She almost laughed to herself when she considered sitting next to Itachi, but settled on sitting directly in the centre of the triangle Itachi, Naruto and Sasuke had created. All three young nin waited patiently for the ANBU Captain to explain their situation and after a few eerie minutes, he began;

"Our target goes by the name Michio Watabe. He's a well-known missing-nin from the Land of Lightning and recently stole a precious artefact belonging to the Sand." Itachi stared at his hands as he talked and the other ninja listened intently. The sudden stop in his explanation made them all look around at each other, confused. Sakura sighed at the lack of information Itachi had given them. It was no surprise that he had left out a lot – the older brother seemed to have trouble using his vocal cords for a long period of time.

"Wouldn't a 'well-known' ninja like Michio have been taken out by now?" Sakura voiced aloud. Itachi rose his gaze up to meet hers and began to brush his fingers along his arm. She stared back, waiting for a reply.

"This mission isn't going to be easy, but it is within your capabilities to complete so therefore, it will be completed." His voice held a harsh tone and Sakura resisted the urge to mockingly shrink away, even though she was slightly wounded at his tone.

"It was a question Itachi, I'm sure Naruto and Sasuke were thinking the same. No need to get so worked up." She rolled her eyes and stood to her feet, walking past the expressionless ninja. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to have closed both of their eyes in order to get a little sleep before setting off again, but she was in no mood to sleep. Especially not in the middle of a forest without a fire. She knew that her actions such as snapping back at Itachi and getting wound up over nothing were immature, but she simply couldn't stop herself.

_17 years old, Sakura, and you still behave exactly as you did when you were 13; _Ino's words ran through her troubled mind. She knew her best friend had meant it as a playful comment, but it struck her deeply. Had she really changed at all since the days her undying love for Sasuke seemed to be the only thing she worried about?

It was true she had become a lot more powerful and definitely more intelligent, but when it came to her personal life... she wasn't such an expert. Sasuke had long been discarded from her mind and instead of going to bed with thoughts filled with the Uchiha clan; she would settle down and recite paragraphs from medical textbooks.

_You need to get out more! Live it up! _More of Ino's words passed through her mind and she smiled at the expression Ino had held. Her friends eyes had been alight with excitement and joy whereas she knew full well that her own were almost grey with boredom. Sakura sighed and tucked a strand of her short hair behind her ear. Her hand hesitated and she combed her pink locks, a small smile floating around her lips.

The memory of when she had first discarded her long, luscious hair still played fresh in her mind. _A rebellious teenage Sakura, fighting against the ninja of the Sound. The exhilaration of having everything resting on her shoulders and the willpower to do anything, no matter what the consequence._

She brought her hand down from her hair and let out a short sigh, scrambling through a few thorny bushes. _I know why Naruto is how he is now, _she thought. His determination and aggressive manner probably put more excitement in his life, whereas she would probably just get a little happy after healing each patient that was brought to her.

She looked up elatedly and pushed a long branch away from her face, ducking underneath it towards an opening in the forest. This mission could be more exciting than it was first made out to be. She remembered the amount of missions Naruto had completed which had turned out a lot more different than expected. To have a Genin working on a mission that switches from C-Rank to A-Rank and completing it. That's what she wants. She wanted to be given a mission which was in fact a whole lot more difficult that everyone credited for.

She stepped over a fallen branch and placed a hand on the mossy surface, sighing when she discovered the wood to be too damp for use. _What a pain,_ Inner Sakura moaned when she picked up another branch that was again, too soggy to begin a reasonable fire. After travelling quite a distance into the dark forest with only an armful of sticks, Sakura decided that it was time to head back. The sounds of trees and branches snapping in the distance certainly shook up her bag of nerves.

She stopped when an obvious branch on the ground snapped and she let everything drop from her thoughts, carefully analyzing the sound of the loud snap. The other cracks and rustles were lighter and delicate meaning that animals or the wind were behind the strange sounds. But this sounded like an inaccurate step.

Pulling a kunai knife discreetly out of her bag and curling it into her hand was a lot more difficult then she first thought, having an armful of sticks to keep up. _Just act like you didn't hear anything, _she thought to herself, taking a few steps forwards and bending down to the ground as though about to observe a stick.

Another snap of a twig sent her into action and she turned to lunge at the shape that had emerged from the trees. However, she was shoved against a moist tree quickly before she could pounce on the silhouette.

"Although I admire your perception, killing me would be a big mistake." Sakura let out a sigh of relief when Itachi's deep voice rung out from in front of her. He was still holding her by her wrists against the tree and his body was angled as far away as possible from her own. A slight rush of annoyance surged through her.

"Yeah, well, you're lucky I didn't. Sneaking up on me wasn't exactly the brightest idea in the book." She shuffled uncomfortably against the tree bark but froze when a strand of hair that wasn't her own brushed against her forehead. She had no idea he was that close to her.

"It seems all I ever get from you when I offer my help is rudeness and sarcasm. I wonder... is that all your personality consists of?" The snide comment Itachi threw at her sifted out of his mouth and flew the short distance between them, brushing against her lips. She stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry, causing the hold on her wrists to release. Her arms fell to her side and she quickly shuffled sideways away from Itachi, picking up the dry wood from the depths of foliage on the floor.

"That was immature."

Sakura held back a laugh at the irritation in Itachi's voice and turned her back on him to pick up another branch. _Note number one; Itachi does not like raspberries, _she bit her lip to hide a smile when she picked up another stick of wood. There was no time to react when her arms were grasped from behind and the wood fell from her arms again, merely missing her feet.

"I think you forget that I am a high-ranked ANBU Officer, Sakura. No matter how much you hate me unfortunately, you still have to respect me." Itachi's bored tone plucked Inner Sakura's nerves and Sakura felt herself becoming rebellious.

"_Unfortunately, _I don't give a damn." She winced when the grip on her arms tightened and a cold kunai was pressed just above her hip where her top revealed soft, bare skin. She shivered at the coldness of the object and winced when it was pressed harder into her skin.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't allowed." Her voice remained steady and patronizing despite the fact she was in a dangerous position. To think that someone like Itachi would drop as low as to ambush her in a dark forest where she was innocently picking up firewood; it seemed a little too perverse for her liking. However, the tightened grip of the kunai pressed into her back sent messages to her brain that said: _Warning_.

Sakura resisted the urge to laugh to herself when the long awkward silence stretched before her and Itachi. When it was clear no apology was going to be made, what she could have heard was a sigh of defeat from behind her.

"Escape from my hold." Itachi spoke suddenly, his voice not hinting any sign of defeat, proving that the breath of defeat was simply a misheard blow of wind. Sakura frowned, disappointed that her little game had not worked. It did however mean that she was allowed to hit Itachi now - with his permission no less. Sakura smirked to herself and twisted around, breaking her two hands from Itachi's grip. She swung her chakra-infused leg around to kick his hand that occupied the kunai but found the shinobi nowhere to be found. A breeze from behind told her that she was now - once again - in a difficult position. An arm quickly came around before she could react and a cold kunai was pressed to her throat.

"I believe you are dead." He spoke passively. Sakura squirmed in his hold, aware that the contact of his warm body was now warming up her own. _Gross, we're sharing body warmth, _Inner Sakura quipped. Sakura snorted and raised an arm to press a point on Itachi's arm, causing his grip to loosen up. She twisted herself out of the grip and turned to face Itachi, smirking at her victory. She took his arms and pinned him to the tree, infusing her hands with chakra in order to stop him escaping.

"Wrong." A dark voice behind her made her eyes widen and the Itachi in front of her turned into a log. She clenched her fists against the tree when the familiar point of a cold kunai was placed on her back. Itachi had replaced himself with a shadow clone once she had turned her back on him. _Damn, he's clever, _she found herself thinking. This time a full smile spread over her face and she was glad Itachi couldn't see such vivid emotion. _But I'm cleverer. _

The substitute Sakura disappeared and for one moment, Itachi let his expression slip into shock when one slender arm wrapped around his stomach and the other around his neck. He looked down at the arm currently holding his waist and saw the faint tint of blue, meaning she had immersed it with chakra to restrain him from using his legs. The other arm held a kunai containing a poisoned chakra.

_She's almost as sharp as me, _Itachi thought to himself, although he would have never told her this to her face. The substitution disappeared and Sakura was left with nothing but an armful of logs. She cursed silently and scanned the trees for Itachi.

"Enough. We will go back now." His voice was loud behind her and she rotated to raise her fist to his face. He gripped her wrist firmly with his calloused hand and stared at her.

"I said, enough." He repeated his orders and she glared at him a little longer before sighing in defeat.

"If this had been a real battle, you would have been dead." Itachi spoke sternly to her as she walked off. She ignored the raised hairs on the backs of her neck which indicated that his eyes were still rested on her.

"It's late and I'm tired. Of course I'm not going to be fully aware of every movement an ANBU Officer makes." She backfired, picking up the remaining pieces of wood from the floor. As she began to walk away, she was very conscious of the pair of legs that had fallen into step beside her. Itachi threw his gaze onto her studying eyes and watched as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"The possibility of an enemy striking at night is higher than the possibility of an enemy striking during the day. Fatigue is a weakness."

"Well, it's a damn good thing I get a lot more pissed off when I'm _fatigued_ then."

The pair walked in silence back towards their 'camp' and for once, Sakura was glad that her other teammates where not around. The silence was delightful. She found it difficult to find peaceful company and with the vocally troubled Itachi she still felt as though she had couldn't have anyone better, even though she did hate his guts. Ever since her parents had died, getting company that could fill the empty space inside her seemed more troubling then it was worth. _At least I have an ounce of knowledge of what Naruto felt like... _She winced at the thought of the energetic boy she knew today, sitting in his small apartment eating dinner at the age of 6, knowing that he would be spending possibly the next 14 years of his life eating alone.

Itachi watched the pink-haired kunoichi from the corner of his eye and his eyebrows turned into what some people what call a frown. She was staring hard at the floor, obviously imagining some disturbing scene in her mind. Whether or not it was related to the mission and it was simply fear that made her look like this, it still fazed him to know that she was thinking of such things.

The emotions that washed over her face which she clearly thought where hidden amused Itachi. He had obviously managed to school his expressionless face into perfection over the years, but most shinobi such as her had a long way to go.

Sakura sighed and lifted her head up, spotting the familiar forms of Naruto and Sasuke lying in the distance, neither of them having moved from their positions. She gently placed the rough wood into a small pile and sat in front of it, raising a hand to light it. A hand quickly shot out and grasped her wrist, settling it back into her lap.

"Allow me." Itachi spoke, performing a quick hand seal with one hand. Sakura watched in amazement as a small string of fire slowly floated through the air like smoke, gently settling itself above the wood. As soon as the thread of fire came into contact with the wood, it engulfed it, causing Sakura to jump back slightly.

"Neat trick." She snorted lightly and kept her eyes on the magnificent fire for a few minutes before lying down beside it, staring up through the damp tree canopies at the stars. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Itachi assumed a similar position and her lips twitched slightly. The crackle and warmth of the fire became soothing and it wasn't long before both ninja had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

----**----

**To Be Continued...**

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**A/N: Umm.. hello again! :D**

**Not much to say at the end of this. I'm aware that not a lot has happened yet... but it's getting there. I was planning to make each chapter about 6000 words, but thought that maybe it would be best to start off small.**

**Again, please tell me if I've gotten anything wrong. I've attempted for the first time ever to use words like 'kunoichi' and 'jinchuuriki' but I still refuse to use honorifics. I just think it's a lot more realistic if they use the names without them.**

**I know it seems like a non-massacre story, but there may be a few situations which involve a little massacre. I mean, I'm pretty fed up of writing happy romantic cliche bollocks, so this could turn out a lot more different then expected. :D **

**Also, I'll be playing around with the title a little. I can't decide on a good one and I'm open to suggestions!**


	3. Duet

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**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

-

"Get up, Sakura."

Sakura's aching eyes fluttered a moment before opening fully and focusing on the two obsidian eyes that were blinking down at her. For a moment, her mind raced and she considered the thought that she was still dreaming, but when the two eyes moved backwards she recognized the figure. She groaned at her throbbing bones and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

"It seems we have been spotted." Itachi crossed his arms and turned his back on her, heading towards the long, dreary road that they had recently come off of. Sakura froze for a moment and her gaze switched to the two places Sasuke and Naruto had occupied the night before. She scrambled to her feet and followed Itachi, kicking the dead fire as she did so.

"Did they take Naruto and Sasuke?" She asked him hurriedly. One corner of Itachi's lips rose in amusement and for a moment Sakura was dazed. It had been the first sign of emotion he had shown since the mission begun. She forced herself to not mention this and instead waited for an answer.

"It appears they are following Naruto. He went off to bathe this morning and they moved their positions so they were surrounding him. We are in no immediate danger as all they are doing is mere surveillance, but I ordered Naruto and Sasuke to continue on without us." Itachi explained it so calmly that Sakura wondered whether he had ever sent other shinobi off to their deaths as easily as he had done with Naruto.

"It's no wonder you were the only available shinobi in the village, you obviously don't have the brains to be a team leader." She settled her voice, struggling to keep the anger and worry masked. Itachi turned his head slightly into her direction.

"Excuse me?"

"You've just given them Naruto on a silver platter." Sakura hissed, staring at Itachi out of the corner of her eye. The amused expression on Itachi's face didn't crumble. It seemed she had done nothing more than arouse his amusement farther.

"You should never underestimate a shinobi's skill. We won't be handing Naruto over as easily as you have made out, we will be backing him up as soon as the ninja make their move. They would never approach him if I was present." He explained with a small smile still twitching in his lips. Sakura couldn't help but watch the passive Uchiha explain his plan in detail. _Note number two; Itachi only speaks a lot when he is proving his intelligence_.

"How exactly do you intend to know when they make their move? Wait until we hear Naruto shouting?" She asked him sarcastically, shuffling the bag on her back to a more comfortable position. She switched her gaze swiftly to Itachi and found his mouth set into his usual thin line.

"My skills at detecting enemy presences are more than satisfactory. I will be able to recognise when a teammate is in danger." He spoke coolly. Sakura comically felt herself freeze over at his tone. _Note number three; Itachi is a jumping bundle of joy when you underestimate his skills._

Itachi remained silent as they continued to walk, the shuffling of their feet on the dusty road the only sound that echoed around the quiet forest. Sakura stared at the floor as she walked, the cool breeze blowing through her dirt-ridden cerise hair. She grimaced uncomfortably when she realised that it would be a while until she would have a real shower with soap and warm water. She knew that shinobi were trained to live with being unclean as some of them would have to be on missions at weeks at a time without the luxury of a bath. But she was one of those shinobi that had never really gotten used to it.

"Naruto and Sasuke began to travel early this morning. We shall come into contact with them soon." Itachi lifted his head slightly into the sky as though observing something more. Sakura watched in fascination as the Captain set his impressive skills to work.

"The 3 ninja surrounding them are beginning to pursue him; I think it's time we hurried." He dropped his head down to catch her gaze, his ebony locks falling in front of his chiselled face. She watched him a while, waiting for any flash of worry or concern and he stared back just as equally. Nothing. She sighed dismissively and turned away.

"Sure, lead the way."

~*~

It was over an hour before they came close to any sort of indication they were near a raging battle. Sakura frowned at the Uchiha's back.

"I thought you said we were close." She hissed at him. Itachi continued to leap through the trees, unperturbed by her question. In fact, it seemed he had ignored her entirely. Sakura shook off the insults that ran through her head and focused on the sounds of battle fuming in front of them. It was unclear who was winning or losing, but she damn hoped that Naruto was the one causing the trees to collapse.

It wasn't long before they approached an opening and they sat in the trees, watching the scene in scrutiny. Sakura set her mind to analyze the conditions of the shinobi that were fighting. Sasuke seemed to have broken his arm and was badly scathed, meaning that the ninja they were defending themselves against were obviously no robbers. Naruto was a lot worse, which certainly didn't surprise her. She pushed away all worry and fear that threatened to arise and kept her mind set on the work. Emotional links to ninja that may be near death were something that was to be ignored when in the midst's of an analysis.

Naruto had post-bruises along his cheekbone and his breathing seemed sharp and distant which could mean a variety of things. She swallowed down the tears that welled up in her eyes. Seeing her friends in pain always troubled her, but she had learned to control such weak emotions. Naruto's hand was shaking violently showing that his Rasengan had been used frequently.

When she turned her gaze to the 3 shinobi they had been fighting, she almost fell from the tree branch. The familiar pattern of red clouds on a coal black background was unmistakable. Judging by the slight twitch in Itachi's expression, he had noticed it too.

_Akatsuki, _the word felt like venom in her mind, sending poisoning lashes down her body. The group of merciless killers, well-known for their power-hungry and money-making schemes. She turned to look at Itachi, who was studying the situations just as intensely as she was.

"It seems the circumstances have changed, somewhat." He whispered more to himself then to Sakura. She hummed in agreement and watched the mouth of a blonde-haired Akatsuki member move. Something he said must have fired up Naruto as the young boy flung himself at the criminal, yelling incoherent curses.

"We should get down there." She whispered to the ANBU Captain. His brow had furrowed completely, causing the lines on his face to deepen drastically. Her words seemed to not reach him, his thoughts obviously clouding his own hearing. Sakura kept her eyes cast on him for a moment but a yell from below caught her attention.

Naruto had been thrown to the floor and small specks of white surrounded him.

_Exploding clay, _Itachi had snapped out of his stupor and blinked at the jinchuuriki. Sakura tensed to move forwards, but Itachi threw his arm in front of her to prevent her from moving.

"If you go down there now you will only suffer the same fate. We have to think it through." She studied his face and noticed the first few signs of distress. It seemed the longer she spent with Itachi, the easier it was to notice his true emotions. She sighed and relaxed against the branch. Itachi moved his head back down to stare at the Akatsuki, his arm still blocking Sakura from saving her friend.

"Besides," his deep voice caught her attention. He was frowning deeply. "I think they already know we're here." Sakura's aqua eyes snapped up to his face and widened.

"How can you tell?" She asked quietly. He smirked humourlessly and dropped his arm from in front of her to rest at his side.

"It seems one of them has lost their composure somewhat, his heart rate has increased and despite the fact he's wearing a complete face mask, it's obvious his eyes keep casting into this direction." Itachi nodded at the Akatsuki he was talking about and Sakura moved her focus onto the twitching man. After close inspection, Sakura raised her eyebrows in surprise that Itachi's statement was true. It was then that the realisation hit her.

"It doesn't seem like they're in a rush to dispose of us. Maybe they don't think we're a threat?" She suggested, wincing when the blonde kicked Naruto in the ribs. Sasuke's gaze flickered up to the direction they were positioned and for a moment she was startled. It seemed Sasuke had almost as good as perspective as his elder brother.

"I believe the term 'playing it cool' seems the likely way to put it. I know that they are unaware I understand they are watching us. The masked one must be new." His voice remained hollow and bored even though he was explaining a dangerous situation. It was times like this she envied Itachi for his shallow personality. She was a bundle of tension.

The blonde-haired Akatsuki quickly switched his gaze discreetly to the treetops and swiftly returned it to the boy. _How long are they planning to watch their comrades being beaten senseless I wonder? _He snickered to himself and blocked an oncoming punch from the raven-haired boy whose broken arm cracked sickeningly as he was thrown to the floor once again.

The yells of Sasuke pushed Sakura over the edge. She scrambled to her feet and this time, Itachi seemed reluctant to stop her. It had taken all of his willpower to hold back a curse when his little brother had screamed in immense pain and he found his resolve weakening almost as rapidly as Sakura's had. He followed her to the ground and stood in front of all of the young shinobi, his eyes swirling a deep, blood crimson.

The shark-faced Akatsuki smirked in amusement and the blonde-haired one slowly followed. Itachi remained as stoic as ever and stared down the immensely strong enemy, unfazed by the strong waves of chakra they had suddenly started exposing.

"Aaah, what an interesting pair of eyes. Maybe I should pluck them out and take them with me." The cocky fair-haired ninja took a step forward towards the ANBU Captain, who remained as stiff and expressionless as he had ever been.

"Deidara, don't be hasty." The shark-faced Mist ninja called out to his fellow member and a slight twitch of annoyance crossed across the blonde's face. He turned to stare at the interruption and his malicious smile crossed even more widely across his face.

"You know how irritated I get when I am distracted from my battles, Kisame. Perhaps you would prefer if I were to rip yours out instead?" The playful banter Deidara threw at his friend irritated Itachi to no lengths, even though his face did not show an ounce of it. Although the little act they were pulling was as immature as a pair of Genin, it still succeeded in pushing all of the wrong buttons.

"The Sharingan has only been known to bless a total of 5 people in the world. I suppose it should be an honour that you are standing before one of those very people." Itachi felt a surge of surprise run through him and focused on the swirly masked man standing beside Kisame. The lack of headband and appearance confused him to no ends, not hearing about such distinct features in the bingo book. The majority of the Akatsuki had been placed in the book – all nameless - but this one who had knowledge of the Sharingan surprised him the most.

Kisame and Deidara laughed half-heartedly at the knowledge the newbie held. Kisame slapped him on the back and laughed a little more.

"Wow, it seems Tobi here does have some useful information. 'Bout time too!" He turned back to smile patronizingly at Itachi, who was watching with not even the slightest flicker of amusement. To have the legendary Akatsuki act so openly idiotic in front of him was not in the least bit funny. To think people were scared of such pathetic missing-nin.

"In fact, I think he could be even more useful to us then the boy containing the kyuubi." Sakura had joined Itachi's side, having healed Naruto's and Sasuke's injuries. All three shinobi were now weak with chakra exhaustion and very surprised at the information the Akatsuki had. Itachi studied the three Akatsuki in silence, unanswered questions running through his head. His head swimmed with words and possibilities as to why they would need Naruto and it wasn't long before the correct answer threw itself at it. Of course, the kyuubi had a vast amount of chakra. No doubt they had found some way to extract it and use it as their own, or to create some sort of forbidden jutsu.

"We have no chance against these guys. Their abilities could surpass even yours, brother." Sasuke muttered quietly to Itachi, keeping his eyes fixatedly on the enemy. Itachi resisted the urge to snap back saying that the information was obvious. These 3 ninja were more dangerous than any other shinobi you could come across.

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration. "I don't care how strong they are, I won't let them insult me and get away with it!" Naruto made to run towards the Akatsuki once more, but he was thrown back onto the mossy floor by Itachi.

"You were defeated once. To be defeated again would only cause more damage to yourself. These are out of your league. I suggest you flee at once and leave me to deal with them." He spoke with an arm in front of Naruto, who was now lying on the floor and looking up at the calm Itachi.

"I won't let you defeat them on your own." Sasuke stepped forwards and clenched his fists, gazing up in admiration at his confident brother. Itachi threw a quick glance at his younger brother.

"No, you will go too."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and frowned, stepping closer to Itachi. "I won't let you do this alone!" He shouted.

Itachi ignored the loud statements and turned to Sasuke, bending down to his level. Sasuke stared in anger at his brother and met his eyes.

"You will do as I say, as an elder brother and ANBU Captain. I promise I will return." Itachi gripped Sasuke's shoulders for a moment, before dropping his arms to his side and facing the three amused enemies. A short silence followed with Sasuke's gaze still focused on his brother but then he moved away and gripped Naruto's clothing.

"Come on loser, we're leaving." He dragged him along the floor and Naruto lashed around comically.

"NO! I WANT TO KILL THE BASTARD! SASUKE LET ME GO!" He shouted all the way into the forest and Itachi watched carefully as the Akatsuki observed their target disappear. He was aware that Sakura was still standing strongly at his side and he turned to look at her. She refused to meet his eyes and eventually he had to look back at the missing-nin.

"I suppose telling you to leave will not change your stubborn mind in the slightest." He spoke in certain, a small hint of annoyance laced in his words. Sakura snorted lightly at his comment.

"Don't think I'm doing this for you. I am a medical-nin and leaving an ANBU with 3 Akatsuki? I can do the calculations of how the turn-out will be, unlike the other two." She threw a glance into Itachi's direction before continuing. "Leaving you here would be like resigning from my job. I made a medic's pledge that stops me from running away from a battle that is sure to end in death."

Itachi's lips twitched. "No, you didn't."

Sakura smiled to herself. "Well, I'm sure that if I did then that would be one of the terms." Itachi felt a smile crossing his face for the first time in 3 months and an unfamiliar urge to laugh ran through his body. The young kunoichi seemed to affect him in ways that only his closest friend used to... He creased his brow and shook the long-lost memories that had arisen in his mind out of his head. Instead, he concentrated on the 3 Akatsuki who seemed to have a mysterious glint in their eyes.

"Well now, it seems we need to dispose of you quickly so that we may continue to pursue the kyuubi. If you were wise, you would move out of our way." Kisame's cloak flapped in the wind as he stepped forward and his cold, lifeless eyes bore into Itachi's crimson pools. Itachi kept his mouth shut, his onyx hair caressing his defined face. The masked Akatsuki named Tobi stepped forwards and tugged on the shark-faced man's sleeve. He turned around in annoyance and opened his mouth to bark an order. Instead, his face seemed to brighten when Tobi whispered immensely quiet into his ear.

When Kisame was released, he straightened up and once again took a light step into Sakura and Itachi's direction. The eerie silence was beginning to drive Sakura to the point of bursting. If there was one thing she couldn't stand – next to Itachi – it was standing in a silent battlefield. Why stand and stare at each other instead of ripping guts out? It was a mystery to her.

"It appears that we may have found a more worthy shinobi to carry along with us. I have a proposal." Kisame placed his hands on his hips and stared in scrutiny at the two pale-faced ninja in front of him. They both remained silent, simply staring, while Sakura threw Itachi worried glances. Kisame stepped forward.

"The Sharingan can be of much use to us. If we let you live, you must join the Akatsuki," Kisame switched his shocking eyes over to Sakura. "Both of you."

Sakura's green eyes widened in shock and fright at the statement. How were she and Itachi in any way of use to the Akatsuki? Sure, the Sharingan was powerful and she was pretty good at healing, but stretching to these limits...

"Why did you not propose this ridiculous idea to my younger brother?" Itachi spoke passively in return to the offer. After such a proposal like that, he still managed to keep his emotions in check and his face was - as per usual - as bland as ever. Kisame smirked at Itachi and took yet another step forward.

"I am certain that young Sasuke does not hold the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan." Two blood-red eyes widened slightly in shock. His clan's secret jutsu was so openly revealed to the Akatsuki. Itachi's eyes narrowed at the masked Tobi behind Kisame. The newbie was turning out to be a little more than a nuisance with his exceedingly vast knowledge of the Uchiha clan.

"How did you obtain that information?" He spoke coolly. Although the expression on Tobi's face was not visible, it was clear that he had begun to worry. Kisame stepped in front of him, blocking the frightened man from view. He cleared his throat and grinned.

"I am not a patient man, Uchiha. Do you accept?" Kisame's patronizing face threw Sakura a lecherous stare and she recoiled, grimacing. She sidestepped towards Itachi and grasped his grey ANBU vest, pulling him down so his ear was level with her mouth.

"Do you have any clue how to get out of this mess?" She hissed. They both kept their eyes firmly on the 3 missing-nin and Itachi turned his head a little into her direction.

"I have no idea. That is why I suggest you run while you can; it seems their main objective is to persuade me to join them. I'm sure they are not as concerned about you as they are with me." He threw her a quick glance, as though trying to avoid her gaze and she released the hold on his vest quickly, stepping backwards in horror. She shook her head, her lip quivering. _No, he's not seriously thinking... Itachi wouldn't..._

"Don't even consider it." Her voice wobbled as her brain worked through all the possibilities that could be running through Itachi's head. She immediatley regretted what had spilled out of her big mouth when the raven-haired man stiffened. He turned to her with such speed and grabbed both her shoulders, staring at her firmly in the eyes and his face showing the only expression of indescribable anger she had ever seen on a Uchiha's face.

"I would never sink so low. I would rather die than willingly walk into the hands of those filthy criminals." He spoke fiercely, clearing any idea she had that he would accept their offer completely from her scrabbled mind. His grip was tight on her biceps and her eyes glistened with worry. She shook him off easily and turned away to face the Akatsuki.

"Well, it's accept or die. That's how I'm seeing the outcome." She steadied her voice back to her usual tone and ignored Itachi's glare still firmly planted on her face. He straightened his posture and the corners of his mouth moved downwards in distaste as his eyes drifted back to Kisame.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline." He spoke steadily, despite the fact that inside he knew that he had just freely thrown himself into their mercy. Not even a group of ANBU could match the skills of these three and with only him and Sakura left behind...

"What a shame, it seems that you will have to come with us by force. You would have made a good _willing_ member." Kisame stepped forward and sunk underground at an immense speed. Itachi's eyes widened for one brief moment, before he grasped Sakura's arm and leaped into a tree. Kisame's sword cut through the ground like cardboard giving the impression of a shark underwater.

"Sakura, you're going to run." He tightened the grip around her wrist as she watched the shark-like male blast out of the ground and soar towards them. Itachi jumped into a different tree, interpreting the movement with his Sharingan. Sakura unwillingly followed, her arm still held tightly by the Uchiha She wrenched her arm of his grip, gaining a warning glance from the ANBU Captain.

"Sakura, that was an order." He spoke calmly. She shook her head and back flipped as Kisame leapt towards them again. Itachi and Sakura landed in unison on the ground with their backs pressed against each other, cold, hard kunai in their shaking hands.

"I'm not going to step down from my duty just because some sadistic Uchiha wants to act all high-and-mighty on my ass and get killed." She swung a leg around and kicked the shark-faced Kisame in the face when he blasted himself from the ground, water following behind him. Itachi flinched, both at the comment and at the huge spurt of water that was expelling itself from the ground.

"He hit a well. That's bad news." He grabbed Sakura and threw her backwards, taking the full impact of the Water Shark Missile Technique. Her eyes widened and a look of shock trickled across her face as her team leader was swallowed by the huge wave of water shaped like a shark and she scrambled to her feet.

"Itachi!" She moved to jump forwards, but was halted by a cold, clammy hand that clasped across her wrist. She snapped her body around and slashed her capture in the face with a kunai. Deidara grinned as a trickle of blood seeped down his cheek and he flicked his tongue out to lick it.

"Now that wasn't very nice." He grumbled sarcastically, slapping the kunai out of her trembling hand. She fused her chakra to one point in her leg and swung her leg at the missing-nin. He easily dodged it and threw her onto the hard floor, snapping her arm in the process. Her scream sent a satisfied smile across Deidara's face and he crushed her broken arm beneath his foot, watching her writhe in pain.

_Why can't I react quickly? _Sakura thought through the waves of immense pain that was sent through her with every inch of movement. Her mind was fuzzy and her chakra seemed to be depleted before her.

"We've laid paper paralysation bombs around this entire area. You fell right into our trap." Deidara murmured into her ear, whilst pulling her limp body up from the floor. Her eyes began to fog over and the trees moved in a sea of green. Her inner self protested at her weakness and poked and prodded at Sakura's senses, urging her to get her ass into gear and to kick the guys butt. The blur slowly became steady and she found her vision returning slowly along with a deep emotion in the bottom of her stomach. Anger? No. Fury? No. Rage. Yes, that about summed it up.

She summoned chakra into one finger and shoved it into Deidara's ribs, hearing a satisfying crack as she did so. His yells echoed in her deafened ears and she threw herself off of his shoulder, biting back a yell of pain as she moved her broken arm. A quick flash of chakra healed her arm, leaving her slightly more fatigued then before, but it had helped to ease the pain. She rested on one knee and slowly pushed herself up, the water from the spurting well above her dripping down onto her quickly worn out body.

"Sakura, it's about time you left." A hoarse whisper in her ear made her jump and she turned to the Itachi she was certain was killed moments ago. He was soaked to the skin and looked extremely worn down. The paralysation paper bombs were obviously confusing his senses as his Sharingan was fading from black back to red. Although his Sharingan was defending him against the full impact, she was positive that it took up more chakra then people took credit for and by the looks of it, the paralysation bombs had begun to double its dose.

She was unable to protest. Not because she was changing her mind, but the heavy ache in her head suddenly caught her off guard. The doubled power of the bombs seemed to overwhelm her. Her eyes swirled around and she was dizzy, nauseous and weak as she collapsed to the ground.

Itachi cursed at the unconscious kunoichi and snapped his wary gaze around at the three blurred Kisame's heading his way. There was no way his Sharingan could withstand the lack of chakra mixed with the paralysation much longer and he struggled to keep his posture upheld. His face showed no sign of defeat, but he knew it was over. His determination faded and slowly his blood red eyes turned to onyx. The feeling of exhaustion besieged him and he allowed his aching body to collapse to the floor beside Sakura.

Kisame beamed in victory. "Hm, seems we've caught ourselves two very fine shinobi."

* * *

**A/N: Please don't bite my head off for not explaining the 'paralysation bombs'. I will explain them later or something, but it's my own creation I think. Someone's gonna ask why Naruto and Sasuke weren't affected, but they were and... Itachi didn't sense them because he didn't even know such things existed. There, answered some questions that people would have asked. :P Please tell me if anything is incorrect. I researched the Jutsu's and I've decided to spell them the english way to save confusion. I know I read fanfics and sometimes they use japanese ones and I'm like: wha...? xD**

**Anywaysanywaysanyways  
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**I hope I haven't rushed into anything, but please leave me a comment if I have, review, favorite, tell your friends etc. Thanks!**

**Cylinder(:  
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	4. Meeting

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**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

-

Pain... Darkness... Aching... Bed?

Sakura felt movement beside her and struggled to open her eyes. She settled instead on feeling her way around the comfortable, warm bed she was currently residing in. It hurt her to think, to move, to breath, but she done it nonetheless. Memories... she scrounged through her mind in search for anything that would give her recognition to her whereabouts. She grabbed memories and threw them away until she came across one in particular that caught her eyes. A black background and blood red clouds. Horror rushed through her. The Akatsuki, Itachi, the paralysation...

She sat up from her world of comfort and the woollen blanket fell off of her body. She waited until her eyes adjusted to the piercing light and stared in shock around the room she was occupying. It was small, but slightly cosier then she would have imagined; the Akatsuki certainly didn't seem like the kind of people who were to suddenly start providing them with free guest rooms, but she was clearly mistaken.

She gazed down at the clothes she was wearing and found she was sporting a rather skimpy nightgown, on top of the fact that her broken arm now seemed to be completely healed. She shuddered at the thought of the shark-faced man dressing her and tucked the warm blanket back under her neck. It wasn't until deep breathing next to her made her realise she was not alone in the room. Only inches away from her laid Itachi, deep in a paralysed sleep. The big single bed they were forced to share left little room for her to move and it was a wonder that they hadn't ended up entwined with each other while they slept.

She watched the ANBU Captain and studied his sleeping face, openly smiling at the vulnerability he showed while peacefully resting. She resisted the urge to move a strand of his ebony hair out his closed eyes and instead lay back down beside him. There was nothing she could do until he woke up, so instead she curled back into the covers and watched her team leader sleep.

~*~

She didn't notice she had fallen asleep again until a small sound inches away from her face awoke her. She snapped open her eyes and found herself staring into Itachi's black orbs. Instantly, she moved backwards and bumped hard into the solid wall that was behind her.

"It seems we have an issue." Itachi's voice was laden with tiredness and he rubbed his forehead with the arm that was outside of the blanket, sitting up slowly and gazing around the room. He took it in the same way as Sakura, except without the show of emotion. She shook her head and sat up too, clambering out of the bed while being extra careful not to brush Itachi. He took his eyes off of the bland room for a moment and drew them to Sakura, raising one eyebrow at the ensemble she happened to be wearing. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't. Say. Anything." She lifted a finger in warning and stormed over to a window that filled half of the grimy, stone walls and looked out, her eyes widening at the sight before her. Water was gushing down outside of it. They were inside a waterfall.

"Well, it's certainly discreet." She mumbled, turning back to Itachi. He was staring at the floor, deep in thought and it was clear that he was analysing the situation because his eyes flickered with light and intelligence. She walked up to him and bent down to the floor, catching his distracted eyes. They moved to her face.

"You can analyse the situation for weeks and possibly days Itachi, but the outcome is gonna be the same. We're captives and there is no way to escape." She rose to her feet and approached a damp wall, running her hand along it and staring at it closely.

"The walls seem to be infused with some sort of chakra. There's no way I can study it fully without my kit, but I'm assuming it's to prevent any jutsu blasting or erasing the wall." She turned and rested her back against it, sliding down it slowly towards the floor. Resting her elbows on her bent knees, she entwined her fingers through her pink hair.

"This is just brilliant. I don't think the mission could get any"- A hand clamped over her mouth and she stared up at Itachi with wide eyes. He was bent down beside her and a slight smirk was twitching around his silky lips.

"Don't jinx it, Sakura." He spoke coolly, removing his hand. She continued to stare with an open mouth and scoffed quietly at him, turning away from his amused face.

"This is hardly the time to play around, _Captain_. They may want to torture us for information and I don't really find that amusing." She stared up through her eyelashes at Itachi, her eyebrows furrowed and strained. Itachi shook his head and rose to his feet to sit on the edge of the bed, which was still messed up from when he had left it earlier.

"They need my eyes and battle skills. No doubt they will keep us here until I accept their offer, but for the meantime I will just have to watch them carefully and hope there is some way to escape. They won't inflict much harm to us if we are to be useful to them." Itachi winced suddenly at the thought of being a mindless puppet to them and turned away so his emotions were not shown to Sakura. He knew they were in a bigger mess then it seemed. He could barely hold out against one member and now he was in a hideout that could contain hundreds of unknown Akatsuki. Sakura pushed herself up from the wall and began to search each cabinet out of curiosity. A small sound that emitted from her caught Itachi's attention.

"This is some sort of sick joke." She hissed to herself, leaving the draw open as she turned away. Itachi looked warily at the drawer and approached it, snorting at the sight before him. Two Akatsuki uniforms were folded up neatly in the oak chest, the obvious size difference in them clearly indicating that they were for him and Sakura. For such a disgusting gesture, it was quite surprising he found it amusing.

"This is bad," Sakura ran a hand through her dirt-ridden hair and pulled a face. Itachi straightened up and approached the large, dank window, staring out of it dazedly.

"We are in no danger. They stated that we were useful to them. As soon as we have an opportunity to escape, we will." He tapped his fingers against his cheek and his eyebrows twitched.

Sakura watched the leader and struggled to decipher his emotions. He was no doubt attempted every slight possible way for them to escape from the Akatsuki's grasp and she was in no position to help, since she couldn't get inside his head. She dropped her arms which had crossed across her chest and sighed, heading for the bathroom.

"I hate that I'm giving in to their luxury, but I really need to take a shower." She stalked into the surprisingly glamorous bathroom and stripped down, ducking her head as quickly as possible underneath the warm jet of water that burst down onto her body. She moved her hands through her hair roughly and tugged at the tangled ends furiously.

_Damn Akatsuki. We go on one measly mission to catch a pest and we end up being captured by a bunch of gormless idiots. _She winced when she pulled too roughly on her hair and yelled out a stream of curses, then turned off the gleaming tap. Clambering out of the steamy shower seemed to do nothing but arouse her anger further when she looked at the luxury of the bathroom. She infused chakra to one fist and punched hard at the protected walls. It succeeded in doing nothing but leaving the shield shimmering as though taunting her failure.

"Sakura, you will only proceed in harming yourself if you attempt to punch through the walls." Itachi's bland voice called through the doorway. She stormed over to it and bit her tongue, disallowing herself the string of insults that tingled on her tongue. Yanking open the door in nothing but a towel certainly caused the expression on Itachi's face to shift a little, but she couldn't care less.

"They've taken my clothes, given me the world's worst piece of clothing and now they seem to be forcing us to wear those disgusting colours. These people are sick in the head. SICK." She yelled, storming around the room. Itachi's eyes scanned her flaunting figure intensely and he cleared his throat before removing his own long black shirt.

"I would much prefer you wore something at the very least. That towel won't hold your tantrum for much longer." He stuck out his arm and watched her passively as she ran her own eyes over his bare chest. It appeared she was unimpressed but her eyes remained on him all the same.

Sakura greedily absorbed every inch of Itachi's lean body and approached him, yanking the shirt out of his hand. Grumbling a quiet thanks, she stormed back into the bathroom and swiftly changed. It seemed to be long enough and certainly beat the skimpy little thing that was strewn across the floor now. The sudden image of Itachi wearing the ridiculous nightshirt caused her to stifle a hysterical amount of giggles that had arose in her chest and she bit her lip, feeling a little better. But just a little.

Quietly unlocking the door and stepping out, she discovered that Itachi was resting easily on the bed and staring at the ceiling. She sighed. _Note number four; Itachi doesn't get tantrums._

"How long do they plan to keep us in here?" She asked to no one in particular, sitting on the corner of the bed. Itachi spared one eye to scan her, and then brought it back up to the rocky ceiling. A short silence followed and she was sure he wasn't going to answer.

"I am just as frustrated as you at being stuck in here with someone I am not very close to, but the only thing we can do is sit and wait." He spoke with mild irritation in his voice. Sakura – slightly offended by his tone – immediately jumped away from him and headed for a cushy armchair in the corner of the room.

"I never said I was frustrated." She grumbled to herself, slinging her legs over the arm and her back resting against the other. Boredom and impatience was certainly two emotions that never struggled to arise in situations like this. Casting a careless glance over the half-naked Itachi only caused her to shuffle uncomfortably even more but a wise thought struck her; being stuck in the room with Naruto or Sasuke would have been much worse. Naruto, with his constant shouting and yelling that he'd kill them or Sasuke, with his unwillingness to converse with anyone but his brother. Sighing, she rested her head against her hand and frowned at the back of the red armchair. She was right, it could have been much worse.

A small glint of blue caught her attention and she realised that a bracelet of what seemed to be chakra was wrapping itself around her wrist. A ruffle of the bed quilts meant that Itachi had straightened from his lying down position and was watching it intently too. It was then that the door to their 'cell' opened and they immediately both assumed their natural fighting positions in the centre of the floor, side by side. A woman with red hair, cropped tightly around her neck and a set of enticing green eyes greeted them with an expressionless face. She didn't even raise an eyebrow at their defensiveness and continued as usual.

"I am Kiko. The idiots sent me down here to place that jutsu on you, although personally I think this was a waste of time. Those bracelets will mean that any attempt to escape will immediately bring you right back here to this room and the charm will neither run out nor break unless I have released the jutsu or have been killed, both of which seems unlikely. The leader shall be seeing you two very soon to discuss something pointless and then you shall be given meals." Sakura blinked twice and gazed at the passive woman and was about to move forwards and swipe the bland expression off of the womans face. However, she found that her body had frozen to the spot. Itachi seemed to feel the discomfort of the freezing jutsu and winced.

"What if we were to refuse?" He asked bluntly. The woman named Kiko narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at the man that was under her jutsu and showed nothing but a bland expression as a reply.

"There is no refusing." She turned around and stepped out of the room, leaving an even more frustrated Sakura and a twitching Uchiha to fall to the floor. They both pushed themselves up with their arms, glanced at each other and then the bracelets that had so easily washed any relative plan of escaping from their troubled minds.

"Well, Mr I'll-Piss-Off-Miss-Passive. What exactly do we do now?" Sakura gritted her teeth in bitterness and hauled herself from the floor onto the bed. Itachi didn't respond to her insult and settled himself on the edge of the bed similarly, staring at his hands and twisting the chakra-infused bracelet around his wrist. His face showed no emotion, but his eyes were almost straining with concentration as he scrolled through any possible ways of survival they had left. After a long 15-minute silence, an aggravated Sakura opened her mouth in irritation to ask him again, but he raised his head to answer her question.

"We wait."

It took everything she had to not strangle her adoring fellow prisoner there and then.

~*~

"Don't talk, don't say anything." Itachi muttered to Sakura, who was gritting her teeth and clenching her delicate fists tightly. They were on the way to meet the leader of Akatsuki and she was more than a little fuming. Being cooped up in a room which Itachi for so long with nothing to do but sleep? It certainly ticked her off. Included with her little tantrum was the irritation of not following the dates. She had no idea what day it was, or the time. _It must be about a week until my birthday... _Her clenched fists tightened, her nails almost piercing the soft skin of her palm.

Now she was going to meet the disgusting man responsible for all of this kidnapping and prison crap and she certainly wasn't going to be biting her tongue. She would yell and scream at him until her throat was raw from the cursing and insults that were threatening to spill from her mouth. Itachi seemed to sense this and pinched her arm slightly, glaring at her.

"I mean it." He spoke sternly, intimidating her for a moment. Sakura decided to retaliate in the most immature way possible and stuck her tongue out at him. After receiving a disgusted huff of defeat from the man, Sakura opened her screwed up eyes and stared at Itachi, who was now seemingly more pissed with the situation.

"I am still the leader of the team, Sakura." He hissed to her, throwing his eyes warily around the four Akatsuki that surrounded them. They turned another corner and Sakura rolled her eyes in return.

"Yeah, and what a team it is. I'll accept any punishment you want to give me when we get out – if we get out." She corrected herself and looked around at the cloaked men leading them. Deidara seemed to be the only one struggling to keep his mouth shut, obviously under orders to not provoke the shinobi in any way. Sakura smiled to herself at this and winked at Deidara, who then proceeded to open his mouth to retort angrily.

"Deidara." The red-headed woman Kiko warned. He shut his open mouth and narrowed them at Sakura, who threw him a smug smile of victory. Itachi pinched her again.

"Will you quit doing that?" She hissed under her breath, rubbing the sore area which had been tormented with pinches. Itachi ignored her angry tone and continued to face forwards passively as they proceeded through the dark, damp corridors as though travelling through an endless maze.

"Don't provoke them." Sakura rolled her eyes at the order and snapped her direction of gaze to a red door that stood out at the end of the corridor. Shuddering, she was reminded of those horrible nightmares that consisted of a never ending doorway and a simple door that was unreachable at the end of it. They slowly approached it, however and it seemed like they were getting closer. _I wish it was a nightmare..._

Kiko leaned forwards and rapped her knuckles on the door, her usual stoic face showing a small brush of annoyance. The other Akatsuki surrounding her seemed to curl each of their lips up in repulsion before the door was opened by a purple-haired woman, a disgusting lip piercing hanging from her bottom lip.

"We have brought the shinobi, Pain." Kiko's silky voice echoed in the silent room. Sakura snapped her eyes to the cloaked figure in the chair and grimaced at the piercings that he withheld. For the leader of a bloodthirsty group, he certainly looked young. If she had known better she would say he was almost attractive, had it not been for the bits of metal that were hanging from his face. When he showed no emotion on his pierced face, she almost laughed in disbelief. The Akatsuki were either emotionless or mouthy; she didn't know which one she preferred more.

"Sit." He ordered, glaring at the rest of the Akatsuki who warily stood by the door. Each of them nodded and left swiftly obviously glad to be out of the presence of their terrifying leader. Itachi and Sakura remained wary, sending each other dodgy glances before finally pulling out the two red armchairs in front of his desk and placing themselves in it. A tense silence followed with only Sakura suffering under the immense pressure that built up in the back of her head. So many things she wanted to yell at this man threatened to burst out her mouth at once and instead, she settled on a gritty, calm approach.

"Why... are we here?" She hissed slowly through clenched teeth. The leader's eyes brought themselves up to hers and she almost gasped. The darkness in the room hid half of the man's face and she had not noticed his eyes until they were brought into contact with hers. A swirl of orange seemed to entice her into the heartless eyes of the leader and eventually she snapped herself out of the trance, frowning harshly at him.

"Well?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the passive leader. Itachi threw her a warning look but she continued to wait patiently for the leaders answer.

"We need the widest range of abilities we can find in order to become successful and it so happens that the Sharingan will be a definite use to us. As discovered by our group, you happen to be the Legendary Sannin's pupil who possesses immense strength and healing abilities. However, if we were to somehow fall into some sort of debt, we can hold you at ransom and throw you back into the arms of your petty village in order for a substantial amount of money." The man's voice was unnaturally soothing and didn't show any hint of arrogance or bloodlust. Still, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the leader.

"Couldn't you have got on fine without us? You don't seem to be in any danger without the Sharingan." She suggested, ignoring the never-ending glare from Itachi. The ANBU Captain sighed in defeat and lifted his gaze to the orange-haired man and awaited his response. Orange orbs swiftly switched between the both of them.

"We want a never-ending supply of power and if unwillingly forcing two shinobi to work for us is the way to do it, we will not hesitate. I am aware of the uncertainty you two have with us," his eyes drifted over Sakura's attire – Itachi's t-shirt – and Itachi's barely covered chest. "But I assure you we mean you no harm. I'm afraid I sent out my most eager members to pursue you and they got a little... carried away." His lips twitched and Sakura almost smiled with him. Her eyes widened in realisation when she figured that she was nearly going to make a gesture of friendliness towards the leader. She shuddered and settled her face back to her frown.

"Of course we're uncertain. You lock us in a room with nothing to wear but your filthy colours and then tell us we're to work for you? We've been told you're merciless killers; how do you think we're going to react?" She replied with less fierceness then she'd hoped. For a moment, it was as though she had silenced Pain into a thinking session and the dreary silenced stretched between them.

"I'm afraid to say that I agree with her. Right now I feel nothing but hatred for you and we will be trying to escape at every possibility we can." Sakura turned to Itachi who had not only begun to speak, but also revealed so openly that they were going to be attempting escape. She didn't keep her gaze on Itachi long as she wished to see the reaction this comment had made on the leader. To her surprise, he remained as passive as ever, not even sadistic amusement showed.

"You are more than welcome to attempt it, but we will be surveying your every movement. But I assure you that as time draws on; you will be less than willing to leave. Our intentions are not always as hard-hearted as people make out and the real nature behind the Akatsuki will soon become clear to you." Itachi frowned at this. The real nature behind the Akatsuki?

"You have killed families for the sake of their treasures and you sought out Naruto to take his power. Those are not hard-hearted acts?" Itachi's voice spoke about such harsh activities, but it still remained monotone and bored.

"I have already explained our intention to draw in more and more power. The rumour of the jinchuuriki's power was well-known and we attempted to take him. It was then that you turned up, so our plan was instantly converted to that of one concerning you."

"The families were hardly going to put you in any danger, why take their lives for your own financial purposes?"

"They had buried criminal acts even more dreadful then the one's we have been rumoured to perform. I will not decline the fact that the other members strive for blood and kill without blinking an eye but they will not lay a hand on the innocent unless it puts them in danger. When an attempt to rescue you is brought on, the Akatsuki will not willingly let the shinobi kill them. They will go to whatever limits to ensure our group is not affected in any way."

Sakura looked at the two men who expressed no emotion on their faces or through their voices as they spoke and she found herself wearily losing concentration. It was like staring at a brick wall for 15 minutes. However, she realised the last comment Pain had made and frowned.

"Are you trying to say that this group is actually... good?" She asked. A long silence followed as she eagerly awaited the answer. Pain seemed to be running through a suitable answer and it was at least a good 10 minutes before he decided to reply.

"We have betrayed our villages by leaving them, yes, so we should be ashamed of that. However, we feel that some tasks that the villages refuse to do themselves are our responsibility so we make sure that it is completed, taking our own rewards along the way. We can dig deeper than any village can and solve issues that have long since been forgotten." His lips twitched. "All for the sake of financial purposes and freedom."

Itachi and Sakura were drawn to silence. The whole meeting with the leader had done nothing but confuse their roles more and now he was claiming the Akatsuki were nothing more than a petty group of police ninja.

"It is a help that the rumour spread is we are murderers and to be feared. The last thing we need it for our operation to be interrupted-"

"But you've abducted us. That itself is a rule that you've broken." Sakura quickly cut off the end of Pain's sentence and narrowed her eyes once more at the orange-haired leader. One edge of his pierced lips upturned into what could have been a half-smile.

"I never said that we followed the rules." He spoke smoothly. Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but the door to the pokey office was opened and the purple-haired woman stood expressionless in the opening.

"Take them back to their room, Konan. They will stay there until I require their services." Pain nodded at Konan, who stepped forwards to move away from the entrance. Itachi said nothing and rose to his feet, but Sakura certainly did not enjoy the idea of being locked away again.

"'Require our services'?! We're not just people you can call and then jump to your every whim! We-" A hand clamped over Sakura's running mouth and she was reluctantly dragged from the room by Itachi who looked a little more than peeved. She attempted to bite his hand as Konan closed the door, hiding the leader from view. The frustration she felt at being dragged by Itachi made her feel almost sorry for Naruto after the amount of times she had performed a similar action on him when he opened his big mouth for too long.

As soon as they turned the corner, Itachi released her and ignored the intense daggers that were being thrown at him.

"What's the big idea, Itachi? Were you just going to let him talk to you like that?" She almost yelled. Itachi looked down his nose at her and Sakura could say that he almost snorted.

"We are in no position to argue, Sakura. This is the unbeatable Akatsuki that are our captives and I'm afraid this is where we will be for a long time to come." His expression seemed to turn slightly distorted with frustration before he turned his back on her and followed the purple-haired woman down the hallway, passing Kisame on the way down. Sakura scowled at him and received a hearty chuckle in reply. A flash of blonde hair appeared around the corner and Sakura hissed under her breath at Deidara, who was heading towards her.

"Hey cherry blossom, how's it hangin'?" He changed direction so he was walking beside her and she clenched her fists tightly to resist punching the arrogant bastard. His gaze drifted along her body and he lifted his eyes back up to the side of her head.

"You might want to wear a little more clothing then that, dear. There's plenty of men around here who could find that an invitation." Sakura gagged in disgust at his comment and lifted a fist to punch Deidara, her resolve breaking. Konan stopped walking and watched Sakura lunge and cause Deidara to stumble backwards against the wall. He was grinning as he watched her fist sour towards him, but a hand clasped around her delicate wrist. Sakura snapped her head around to growl for Itachi to let her go, but found he had moved from behind her. He was now standing directly in front of Deidara, inches away from his face.

"There are no paralysation bombs to your advantage here. I suggest you keep your comments to yourself unless you want me to rearrange your face." Itachi spoke so calmly, it was a wonder whether or not he was being serious. A flash of fear crossed Deidara's face when he realised how right Itachi was.

"Deidara, stop being careless. On your way." Konan spoke so quietly it was amazing he even heard her. But he did and with one last glare, he left. Sakura watched his retreating back and smirked to herselfboth at the fact Itachi had defended her and that she was victorious in this little spat. _Sakura 1 Deidara 1._

As footsteps behind her indicated that they were on the move again her mind moved to Itachi, who was walking beside her as calmly as before. She was tempted to smash the perfect face into the wall, just to get a little bit more of a reaction out of him.

Itachi felt her gaze on him and ignored it profusely, refusing to meet those turquoise eyes of hers. He had only jumped to her defence because it was insulting to him too. He had used the inside of one of the cloaks to make himself a scrappy t-shirt and it was barely concealing his own chest. To have Sakura walking around in his t-shirt was disconcerting for him too, but the thought of criminals laying their eyes on such a young kunoichi. He wouldn't let anyone touch her.

"Here." Konan opened the only door along the hallway that seemed to glow and Sakura felt her innards sink. _Back in there? Sheesh... _She reluctantly walked in and again she felt down and low. The constant sheet of water that fell out of the single clear window done nothing to brighten her mood and she made her way over to it. Itachi reoccupied his space on the bed and watched her gaze outside, the full moon that hung in the night sky reflecting off the water and leaving an obscure shine on her face. She looked sad, bored and exhausted.

"I keep wondering if I'll ever get back to the Leaf Village. I don't have any family to go back to..." She hesitated as a distraught expression crossed her face, as though horrible memories were flashing through her mind. "But I don't want to end up working for the Akatsuki the rest of my life. At each chance of escape..." She glanced down at her glowing blue bracelet and cursed, not bothering to finish her sentence. Itachi said nothing as usual and settled on staring at the dull, glowing wall.

"As an ANBU Captain, I understand what it a true and what is false..." Sakura's head jolted sideways to look at Itachi, who was concentrating on staring at the wall. He continued.

"There is an element of truth to what Pain says." He slightly moved his head so he could stare at Sakura out of the corner of his eye to see her reaction. She seemed frozen, as though contemplating what he had suggested. It was difficult for himself to believe, but the body language and tone of Pain's voice was almost difficult not to consider. To even have the slightest belief in something such a worthless enemy has told him after being in his grasp a few hours... it was what was stopping him from believing the leader completely. Sakura seemed sidetracked and went back to staring out of the window, watching the glistening water fall by.

"I have only Naruto and Sasuke to go back to. But that's enough to get me out of this place." She huffed in annoyance and slumped onto the floor, gripping at the floor with her fingers.

"It's just so infuriating... I hate being helpless." She hissed to no one in particular. Itachi winced at her tone and got up slowly from the bed, making her way over to the girl. She didn't hear him approaching and flinched when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Do not think you are the only one suffering, Sakura." He whispered, pulling her up from the pale carpet. She flinched at his comment and scolded herself. _Way to go Sakura, you're so frickin selfish aren't you? Itachi has Sasuke to go back to and he isn't even complaining about being stuck here._

"I'm sorry." She grumbled after his hand left her shoulder. Her reply was an expected silence and she moved toward the bathroom, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I need a shower and then I'll try to get some sleep." She left Itachi in the dark room alone and stripped off the t-shirt and underwear, cursing when she felt her recently healed arm click. _I'll get that bastard back, _she thought, images of the smart-ass Deidara popping into her head. His smug smile and pretty blonde hair... she just wanted to smack it off.

After having a triumphant shower, she twisted off the taps and dressed in Itachi's t-shirt which surprisingly still smelt strongly of his scent. She shook herself out of a daze she appeared to have fallen into and – as quietly as she could – opened the bathroom door. Itachi was sitting in exactly the same position she had left him in and his attention was only diverted to her once she sighed.

"You really need to stop thinking so much. You'll only hurt yourself." She strolled over to the bed and began to crawl onto it on her side. The sleeping arrangements were far from awkward and she had been avoiding speaking about it the entire day. Yesterday, she had been under paralysation, which had restrained her from flinging her arms and legs around. She didn't how she'd cope tonight.

_Damn Akatsuki, I bet they did this for their own entertainment._ She cursed the murderous group and settled down on the bed, holding back a curse when she banged her elbow on the solid wall. If this was double bed then Gaara could fly. Itachi had settled himself under the covers and when she moved herself under them, his leg accidentally brushed against hers. Her instant reaction was to freeze and when she finally decided to move again, her same elbow caught the wall. This time she cursed aloud.

"Would you like me to sleep on the floor? I have slept on harder surfaces."

Sakura inclined her head towards Itachi and found that he had done the same. They were almost nose-to-nose. She swallowed as onyx circles connected with her own weary eyes.

"No. Don't suffer just because I'm careless, I'll get use to this stupid sleeping arrangement." She hissed under her breath, insulting Akatsuki out loud. Itachi didn't smirk, just closed his eyes. She was left to face him and listen to his shallow breathing.

"Should we trust them? How do we know they won't kill us in our sleep?" She whispered worriedly, really only wanting to keep Itachi's attention. She wasn't ready to fall asleep yet. The nightmares she had could plague her and they were the last thing she needed.

"We don't have a choice but to trust them, Sakura." Itachi's voice came out in a hoarse, tired whisper and his eyes remained closed. She caved in, deciding that even passive arseholes needed to sleep sometime. She closed her eyes and fell asleep beside Itachi, dreading the nightmares that were to come.

----**----

**To Be Continued...**

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A/N: Writing Chapter 5 as you read. I've fiddled around with the title and summary and have settled on this one. Tell me what you think. ^_^  
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	5. Idiots

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**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

A rapping sound awoke Sakura from her deep slumber and her eyes snapped open, confused for a split second. For a moment she thought that she had imagined the sound until she heard it again.

"Oi, blossom. Wakey wakey!" An all-too familiar voice was muffled by the chakra-shielded door and she stifled a loud groan, rubbing her tired eyes. She took her hands away from her face and saw that Itachi was still sleeping peacefully beside her, his mouth opened ever so slightly...

"Go away." She grumbled to the voice behind the door, lying back down on the bed to hopefully return to her deep sleep. She focused her eyes on the dark wall and didn't notice Itachi's eyes prising open as a loud chuckle began to echo around the room.

"Don't make me come in there, girly."

"You're our captor; you could at least try and be a little more intimidating. Now let me sleep you worthless little sh-" Sakura felt a familiar hand cup her mouth to cut her off in mid-sentence. A warm body pressed itself against her back and a shadow loomed on the wall in front of her, meaning that Itachi was very much awake.

"I won't tell you not to provoke them again." He murmured to her in a deathly tone hinted with sleepiness. She froze. _Note number five; Itachi is not a morning person. _As inconspicuously as possible, she lifted her arm up to take his hand away but instantly his other hand snapped down on it, stopping her movement. Almost immediately afterwards, Deidara – whom had obviously begun to get impatient – opened the door quickly. One raised eyebrow meant he noticed the striking position the Captain and Sakura were in.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your private time, but Pain told me to come and get you pain in the asses for breakfast." He sneered. Itachi moved away from Sakura with no embarrassment on his face while Sakura rose, as red as her namesake. Gritting her teeth, she flung back the quilt and stalked up to Deidara, who was watching her in immense amusement.

"Wowza, you look so much wilder in the morning." He winked as Itachi gripped her wrist to prevent her from walking further forwards. Turning around, she grabbed Itachi's wrist with her other hand to attempt to free her arm.

"Itachi...stop holding me... back." As she attempted to pull, her pink locks swung around her face, framing her frustrated expression. Itachi released her arm ever so lightly so that when she pulled, her angry body ended up in a pile on the floor. Deidara turned around and walked towards the door, laughing so loud it left the room and echoed down the hallway.

"See you in a minute, blossom." He gave her one last wink and closed the door, still chuckling. A short minutes silence followed with Sakura still crumpled on the cream carpet, both hands pressed to the floor and her fuchsia hair hanging around her face.

"Sakura." She winced at the tone of Itachi's voice and avoided looking up at him. Even though it was obvious he'd be expressionless, she knew his eyes would show much annoyance toward her. She hesitated before answering.

"What?" She spoke boldly, although the noticeable quiver in her voice showed she was dreading the lecture Itachi had to come. He shuffled forwards and held out his hand, surprising Sakura. She stared at it for a short moment then took it and rose to her feet, lifting her head to smile at him. He turned away beforehand and dropped her hand as though it was infected.

"I don't want to be responsible for a reckless teenage girl here, Sakura. They can at any moment decide you are not worth it and dispose of you. I will be unable to stop them."

Sakura froze. Oh, she was a reckless teenage girl? Snorting, she turned away to walk towards the draws containing the Akatsuki uniforms, all the while seething in anger. She had survived so far and was sacrificing more than Itachi knew and she was reckless for it?

"I'm sorry if we can't all be as emotionless as you." She rolled her eyes and sneered at the ANBU, pulling the black and red cloak out of the drawer. Itachi tilted his head in her direction and after realising what she was doing, turned around fully to face her.

"You can't wear that." He spoke calmly. Sakura lifted her head to stare at Itachi, her hands clasping the black and red material. Poking her tongue out immaturely and turning away seemed to silence him.

"I'm not walking around half naked like some sort of prostitute. Besides, I'm not wearing it. I'm ripping it." A loud tear followed her words and after a few short moments she had made short t-shirt and shorts attaching them together with what seemed to be sticky chakra. Silently impressed with her idea, Itachi waited patiently while she changed in the bathroom. When she exited he reached forwards to take his t-shirt back from her. Gripping it tightly in his hand, shuddering inwardly at the warmth it still withheld, he pulled it over his head – finally glad to have a little bit of his decency returned. Bringing his eyes back up to Sakura, he realised that if he searched deep within himself, into emotions long forgotten, he would say that she looked even more alluring then when she was wearing nothing but his t-shirt. She had made a cropped top that fit every one of her curves perfectly and the shorts were almost too deliciously fit to be allowed.

"Came out pretty good." She turned around; examining herself in a full-length mirror that also occupied their room. Itachi silently turned away and flinched when cherry and vanilla wafted up his sensitive nose. Sakura's scent from before they even went on the mission tainted his t-shirt despite the luxury shower gels and shampoos she had been using since then.

The door slamming open caught his attention and he turned quickly, casting an eye warily at Deidara who was all grins and smiles as he observed the two of them, his eyes moving to Sakura when he caught a flash of black and red. He began to scan Sakura's figure without saying a word. It was when he received a harsh slap around the face did he realise that the girl had moved at a quick speed to punish him for his blatancy. Not leaving time to be impressed, he turned to glare at the pink-haired kunoichi who was breathing heavily with anger.

"Do not stare at me like I'm a piece of meat." She growled threateningly, almost immediately afterwards regaining her composure and smiling sweetly at Deidara. He raised a hand to slap her back, but a rush of wind and 5 fingers grasping wrist prevented it. Itachi tightened the grip.

"Do as you were ordered and take us to breakfast." He spoke quietly into Deidara's ear. He swallowed, remembering what Itachi was capable of. He yanked his wrist out of the grip and side-stepped to regain some personal space before throwing Sakura one last glare and opening the door to lead the troublesome two into the dark hallway.

They plodded down the tunnel, nothing but the echo of their light footsteps ringing through Sakura's ears. She smiled as she took in the comforting sound. _Silence is gold-_

"Geez, blossom. Can you ease up on the heavy-footing yeah? You're deafening m-" A hefty smack interrupted Deidara's playful jibe and bounced off of the empty passage. He began rubbing at his throbbing red cheek and warily watching as Sakura moved away, her red face still brightly coloured in the darkness. Without saying a word he halted outside a bland looking door that was similar to the other dull doors along the dry path.

"In here," Deidara grumbled, placing his free hand on the wooden door and moving out of the way to allow Itachi and Sakura's entrance. Four faces raised their heads to stare from inside the room at the newcomers and sly grins crossed a few of their faces.

Deidara took his hand away from his still blemished cheek and took a seat next to the shark-faced man, Kisame. All eyes focused on the blonde as soon as they had finished scanning the two captives.

"Nice cheek, Deidara. Fall asleep on Tobi's shoulder again?" A man with shortly cropped grey hair quipped, tearing a chunk out of his bread that sat on his plate. Everyone froze.

"Hidan, I thought I told you to not speak of that again." Deidara growled, flicking a careless glance into Sakura and Itachi's direction as though embarrassed by the comment. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they figured no fight was about to be begun, throwing quick glances at Sakura and Itachi. Both seemed absorbed with the peculiar attitude the merciless group seemed to hold around themselves. It seemed even stranger in the sense they were sitting down at a large, polished oak table eating a comfortable breakfast.

"Don't just stand there looking gormless, eat up newbies!" Hidan gestured to two bowls that sat to the right of him and smiled seemingly innocent at the two of them. Sakura remained stoned, her stomach grumbling loudly as she figured the pros and cons to accepting the meal from the Akatsuki. One last painful groan of her stomach concluded her answer and she unwillingly placed herself next to Hidan, sending him one painful, cautious glance.

"One step closer to being one of us, darling." Deidara seemed to sense her uneasiness and winked at her from across the table. She quickly made to retreat from the table, grimacing at the truth of the comment. A hand clasped around her arm and pulled her back down.

"Ignore him." Wooden fingers were wrapped around her wrist and she lifted her shocked gaze to stare at the source of the warm, gentle voice. An attractive young boy was sitting near the end of the table, staring intensely at her as though studying her every movement. When she noticed that both of the boys' arms were occupied, she observed the arm that had stretched and touched the fingers that were on her wrist delicately before they moved back to the original owner.

"Puppets." She whispered to herself, sitting back down beside Hidan. Itachi had joined just as grudgingly as Sakura, sitting beside her almost protectively and warily eyeing all of the members.

"Why be so courteous?" He asked no one in particular as he settled himself. All eyes were on him and each one waited for the other to answer.

"You're a member now whether you like it or not. May as well be as nice as we can be." Kisame broke the eerie silence, outwardly unbothered by the truth of it all. The unwanted emotion of fear ripped through Sakura as she realised just how true those words were. They were at Akatsuki's mercy until they escaped or were saved; both of which seemed highly unlikely. Still, she lifted a spoon from the wooden table and took a mouthful of soup, almost groaning in delight at the warm taste of food again. Nothing was stopping her from at least going along with them until they were saved or escaped. No use trying to escape the inevitable.

Itachi seemed to think the same as he followed suite and eventually both bowls were drained completely of soup and nothing but dregs and crumbs remained. When she finished she began to study the other members that sat at the oak table, recognizing some of them and others not.

Kisame sat next to Deidara, both of whom she knew more well then she wished to. Next to Deidara sat the puppet-boy whose name she hadn't caught quite yet. Obviously she knew Hidan, almost as loud and mouthy as Deidara and the last was Kiko, who had been sitting peacefully on the corner of the table and ignoring the pathetic jibes her teammates were making at each other.

Everyone's attention was instantly diverted to the door of the room when it fell off its hinges and landed with a thud to the floor. They stared at the culprit.

"For crying out loud, Tobi." Deidara rose to his feet and scowled angrily at his partner. The orange-faced boy placed an innocent hand behind his head, occupying a similar pose to Naruto's when he knew that he had done something wrong due to his immense strength. It made her heart hurt when she realised that it would be a while until she saw that irresistible pose that always made her anger fade away. A yelp jolted her out of her daydream.

"You're washing up as punishment." Deidara hissed and then left his partner to rub his sore, slapped head. A few seconds after, Tobi's shoulders began to shake slightly as though-

"Dude, is he _crying?!_" Hidan exclaimed, pushing his chair back as he rose to his feet angrily. Sakura looked at him, alarmed for a split second. Luckily, Kiko placed a delicate hand on his elbow and he slowly calmed, placing himself back onto the sturdy chair. Tobi continued to walk slowly with his hand clutching his head and made his way over to the table, seating himself as far away from Deidara as possible. He slowly sunk into the chair, cringing as though the action took a lot out of him.

"YOU'RE MEAN." Tobi shouted suddenly at the blonde, pointing a finger in accusation at him. Deidara grimaced at the loud noise and threw the boy nothing but a passing glance, grasping a plate of bread as he did so.

"No shit."

"If I give you a hug will it make it better?" Kisame grinned maliciously at the masked boy. Immediately he straightened up and opened his arms wide.

"Yeah! Kissy, hug me!" Another slap echoed around the table and another whimper. Tobi was bent double on the table, clutching his head tightly then before.

"My name is not... Kissy." Kisame spat the last word, placing the hand he had just used to slap Tobi back onto the table.

"Bully." A small, muffled whisper floated towards Kisame. He chuckled and pushed his empty bowl away.

"Go play with your dollies."

Disbelief. Nothing could decipher Sakura's emotions more than that one word. _The _Akatsuki. _The _unbeatable group of murderers. They were nothing more than a bunch of young, reckless adults who enjoyed winding each other up. It seemed unreal, as though she was dreaming. Subconsciously, she pinched herself, wincing as the sharp pain ran through her body. The illusion didn't fade away and remained as clear as rain, causing her to admit that yes, the Akatsuki was filled with idiots. Strong idiots.

"Here Tobi, everyone's finished." Deidara threw all the bowls at Tobi, causing him to pull out of his strop and jump to catch every single one. He done so with such a grace it was hard to believe that the young masked boy acted the way he did. _Unbelievable, _Sakura thought, slightly smirking at the stupidity of the whole situation. Tobi slowly made his way through a swing door that she had not noticed and when he disappeared behind it, her attention was diverted to the frustrated looking Deidara. Kisame and Hidan looked thoroughly amused at Tobi's antics, but Deidara was less than happy, his eyebrow twitching in severe annoyance.

"That kid..." He began. Shattering and crashes from the kitchen interrupted the beginning conversation and Deidara stood up, causing his chair to go flying into the wall and leaving a large crack in it. He clenched his fists and stormed towards the door, charging through it.

"TOBI..." His voice faded off as the door closed, leaving a comfortable silence between the remaining Akatsuki. Sakura was dizzy with all of the drama, her mouth hanging open in a slightly awkward gape. Wanting to see what reaction the events had brought out in Itachi, she turned her aching head to the passive man, her pink locks following her. If it were possible, her mouth hung open even more.

Itachi held a heart-warming smirk on his lips that looked too genuine to be real, his eyes glowing almost scarily with entertainment as he stared at the swivel door. She sat for a moment while watching her 'passive' team leader show more emotion that he had ever shown since she had known him - which is an awfully long time. It didn't seem like much to the rest of the Akatsuki; to any outsider it would look like nothing more than a mere upturn of his lips. But to her, it was so much more. A man devoid of any emotion suddenly smirking in amusement at a group of killers... somehow it just didn't seem right.

"Time to get these two back to their cage." Hidan rose to his feet and quickly pulled out Sakura's chair without permission, lifting her gently to her feet. She was thrown off by the gentlemanly gesture and almost thanked him, but ate her words before she could let them loose. It was clear they were trying everything to win her over and it wasn't working. However it was making her feel a lot more comfortable around the criminals.

Itachi rose to his feet without help, his face switched back to his trained expression.

"You really think that locking us up is still necessary," Itachi lifted his wrist containing the blue chakra bracelet. "It doesn't seem like we will be going anywhere soon."

Hidan carefully stepped over the broken door and waited in the passage for Itachi and Sakura to step through. He grinned maliciously at the two of them.

"How do we know you won't attempt to ambush us while we're sleeping? How do we know you won't try and break free with some sort of jutsu? We just don't trust you yet." He shrugged as he led them back through the winding corridors. Sakura snorted.

"Some members we are." She murmured to herself, grimacing when she realised that she would have to spend the next 5 or 6 hours with Itachi in that darn bedroom of theirs. Itachi seemed to react similarly as a loud guffaw from Hidan's direction shook them both up.

"You have no idea how funny the look of horror on both your faces was. I guess you two aren't exactly bosom buddies then. Shame, Deidara must have been lying when he said you two-" A hand clasped over his mouth the moment Sakura stopped walking in front of him. Hidan moved his eyes sideways and saw a frozen Itachi, who was watching Sakura carefully.

"Don't." He spoke clearly and calmly before removing his hand from Hidan's perspiring face. It seemed all Itachi was doing lately was clamping his hand over other people's mouths. Hidan continued like the moment had not happened and grinned stupidly, walking faster to catch up with the silent cherry blossom.

"I hear you have quite a temper. Jashin would be proud of you." Hidan gently placed a hand on Sakura's elbow as they turned a corner and Sakura strangely accepted the friendly gesture. Her silence was enough to indicate she was turning 'white' as Deidara had called it. When her temper was on the brink of releasing, Deidara had told him that her 'gorgeous azure orbs' (Deidara's words) seemed to resemble two endless white tunnels. As a crack in the hallway illuminated her face, it showed her usual smooth complexion had turned a bright cherry red and her green eyes were paling.

Hidan led them in silence the rest of the way.

~*~

"Thirty-one." Itachi placed his three cards down on the floor opposite Sakura and watched her reaction. Her shoulders seemed to tremble with anger for a moment, but stopped when she released a long breath and threw her cards down on top of his. She ran her delicate hands through her messy pink hair, resting her elbow on her crossed legs.

"Twenty-one times you've beaten me. Twenty-one." She moved her focused eyes onto Itachi's face which seemed to have a slight hint of smugness. Or she was just imagining it.

"You simply do not have the patience. I told you I would win every game and I have." He spoke with boredom - as usual - and picked up the cards to shuffle them. Sakura's eyebrow twitched at the arrogance and bit her tongue. Not to stop her from speaking, but to stop her from poking it out at him.

"I won one game." She hissed through clenched teeth. Itachi raised an eyebrow into an arch and began to deal the cards out between the two of them.

"I allowed you to win-"

"Bullshit!" Sakura straightened up to stare pointedly at the Uchiha, glaring furiously. However, he seemed unfazed and smirked almost as much as he had 4 hours before when eating with the Akatsuki. She watched his lips curve perfectly into the arrogant smile and quickly brought her eyes up to his again.

"How do I know you haven't been using the Sharingan, hm? You could probably predict every card that was gonna come next." She scowled accusingly and narrowed her eyes at him. He leant forwards quickly and mirrored her position, both hands placed on the floor in front of his crossed legs. She didn't move back.

"My eyes are ebony, Sakura. See for yourself." He moved closer still, so close so that Sakura could look at nothing except his strangely enticing eyes. Slowly her eyes narrowed more, observing them carefully for any spec of red.

"BLOSSOM!" The door slammed open and Deidara froze at the sight before him. The lights were off and candles were lit around the room, making a rather romantic atmosphere. Sakura had made some sort of nightshirt out of the cloaks they had provided and it seemed to be even more captivating then the nightshirt that Kisame had left for her previously. What certainly added to his disgust was that the Captain and Sakura was almost nose-to-nose.

"They're at it again? JESUS." Deidara covered his hands with his eyes comically, attracting Sakura and Itachi's attention. When Itachi realised who it was, he leant back carelessly and picked up his cards, examining them carefully.

"I told you I was not cheating in any form." Itachi spoke coolly, frowning ever so slightly at the flustered Sakura. She was too busy glaring angrily at the blonde, restraining herself with much effort from hitting him. Deidara's mouth thinned at her expression and he mimicked being stabbed.

"OUCH. Stop throwing daggers." A candle holder was thrown at his head at an impressive speed and left the smallest of cracks on the wall to the left of him. He eyed it cautiously, secretly amazed at the damage she managed to inflict on the chakra shield.

"If that would have hit me..." He turned to stare at Sakura, who was eyeing him up dangerously. She smiled sweetly when he inclined his head.

"I wasn't aiming for your head. Just so happens I have poor aim." Her gaze flickered to his crotch for the smallest of seconds before returning it to her cards that lay in front of her and settling herself more comfortably on the floor, picking them up. Deidara shuddered at the image and took a step forwards, closing the door behind him. When Sakura realised he wasn't leaving, she raised an enquiring eyebrow at him.

"They're my cards you're playing with. It's only decent if you allow me to play too." He sat himself on the floor and took three cards from the top. A light cough from the pink-haired kunoichi caught his attention and he raised his head to blink at her.

"What if we tried to kill you, hm? None of the other members would know and you're certainly no match for the both of us." Sakura made to move towards him. He grinned surprisingly and sharply lifted up her wrist that held the blue bracelet. She attempted to pull her wrist free but no amount of pressure she applied removed his hand.

"This prevents you from inflicting any real damage on us. You can beat me to a pulp or rip my insides out, but your jutsus will be useless." He winked at her and his eyes left her frustrated expression to pick up a card and then discard it when it didn't fit his hand. Itachi whispered under his breath and Sakura blinked at him. She could have sworn he said 'impressive'.

She continued to play, muttering incoherent insults about the Akatsuki under her breath and feeling thoroughly homesick. It had been almost five days since her and Itachi had been captured - that she knew for sure, having caught a glimpse of a calendar that hung on the kitchen wall as she was leaving earlier this morning. She erased the memory of notes that had been put on dates that looked suspiciously like: 'Assassinate so-and-so'. It was creepy the way they marked their missions on a calendar that contained pictures of tantalizing flowers. Five days in a secret hideout that contained criminals with no one but Itachi - it sounded a whole lot worse than it had been.

She lifted her gaze to watch as Deidara quietly chose a card and placed it down, allowing Itachi to take a turn. Five days ago, she had thought that the Akatsuki member had been trying so much to kill her and now she was sitting on the floor, playing an innocent game of cards with him when in reality she should be scratching his eyes out. Shaking her head as she picked up a card, a surge of realisation and happiness ran through her when she found that the card she had picked was the very card she needed to win. She grinned as she laid down her cards.

"Thirty-one." She smiled smugly at Deidara, who smirked back. Itachi placed his cards on the floor and focused his eyes on the blonde, a light frown twitching around his brow. The friendliness of the Akatsuki seemed to worry him but he was not complaining. There had been many situations where he had been tortured for information and he would rather not redo those tragic days. However, it twinged his curiosity as to why they were acting as friendly as they were; it made him wonder whether or not something would happen that might just make the answer become totally clear.

"Oi, Uchiha. I won this round and I won it for real. Now gimme my winnings." Sakura patted him on the shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. His mouth set in a thin line as his fingers fumbled for the thin leather strap that was attached around his wrist, undoing it easily. He held it out for Sakura, who took it quickly. She smiled pleasantly and snapped it around her own wrist.

"Not that I am complaining but it is not respectful to call someone by their last name, _Haruno._" Itachi's lips twitched as Sakura flushed red. When he said her name like that...

"Want me to help get that stick out your arse, Uchiha?" Deidara grinned at the ANBU Captain and received a harsh glare from Itachi in reply. Deidara shuffled backwards quickly, away from the deadly daggers that he feared were going to emerge from the onyx eyes at any moment.

"Bite me, Itachi." Sakura poked her tongue out and softly twisted the leather strap around her wrist before standing to her feet and stretching her aching body, extending her arms above her head. Both men in the room were silent as this action caused more than enough strain on her nightshirt, not to mention raising it to almost give them a clear view of her underwear.

"Is that an invitation, blossom?" Deidara scrambled to his feet to approach her, grinning perversely and failing to notice that she had placed both arms back down to her side, her eyebrow twitching violently.

"I suggest you leave. Go play with some peroxide or your little Play Doh figurines." She turned her head and her face seemed to be completely relaxed as she smiled at him, though her trembling fists seemed to say otherwise. Deidara stepped forwards in shock and anger.

"Oh no you didn't. My art work is not to be resembled with Play Doh! How dare you-"

"If you do not comply with her wishes, I will not hold her back as she resorts to your comment earlier and attempts to tear your insides out." Itachi's voice, although very quiet, still managed to interrupt Deidara. The blonde stared angrily at Sakura for a fleeting moment before leaving the room with clenched fists and gritted teeth. The moment the door had closed with a click, silence rung around the room.

"Sakura."

"..."

"I believe you are in need of some relaxation techniques. It is not always good to go into battle with a mind fogged with anger. Naruto is a prime example." Sakura remained silent as this sunk in. Itachi was telling her she had a short-temper? Well, that just made her even more angr-

She stopped. He was right. She had one of the shortest tempers that could rival almost that of Naruto's and that was worrying.

"Well I can't exactly help it; it's how I was trained." She grumbled, kicking the deck of cards on her way over to the bed. She was tired out from 5 hours of playing cards and now she wanted to crawl into bed and ignore the dinner that she still had to wait for. Itachi seemed to have a similar idea as soon after he came to lie down next to her.

"It seems we are not useful to the Akatsuki until they can trust us and we can trust them. Both ideas seem pretty ludicrous meaning we have a lot of spare time while occupying this bedroom. I will teach you relaxation techniques."

Sakura stiffened. "Will I end up like you?"

"What do you mean?"

Sakura was quiet. "Forget I said anything. Does it help?"

"If it did not help, I would not have mentioned it."

Sakura rolled over onto her side and scrambled under the blankets; not caring that she probably smelt after having skipped her shower.

"Fine, we can try. Don't expect anything."

Itachi rolled over so his back was facing Sakura. "I expect a lot."

On that note which seemed to make Sakura's eyebrow twitch return with a vengeance, both shinobi fell asleep; one with dreams of God-knows-what and the other... the all-too-familiar nightmare.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Awww, wouldn't we all want breakfast with Akatsuki? Please tell me if I've made any mistakes blah, blah, blah... :)**

**It got a little dodgy toward the end, I guess I just wanted to finish it. I forgot to mention on the last chapter; tell me if any Akatsuki are out of character. I really don't know them all THAT well and I only have a small guess at their personalities. Also, I think I've left one member out... Hidan's partner. I don't really need him in it, he seems a little too bland for my liking. Well, sorry for the long authors note. **

**Review or I may never put up another chapter! ;D  
**


	6. Comfort

-

**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

_Endless corridors and screaming echoed through her scrabbled mind, the images so realistic that each touch of the cold, clammy walls that she grasped with her sweaty palms sent her senses into overdrive. Every blood-curdling scream magnified through her pounding ears. The dark tunnel twisted and turned underneath her feet causing her to stumble and fall, sobbing uncontrollably as she forced her way forwards to escape the nightmare. When she reached a heavy metal door and pushed it forwards, she tripped on her own feet through the entrance, causing her to fall face-first onto the cobbled path laden with mud. An indescribable stench engulfed her nose. The stench of death. Slowly, she lifted her dizzy head from the mud, flicking it back to clear her fuchsia strands out of her agonising face. Two familiar bodies lay in front of her, inches away from her sensitive nose. The bodies of her parents. Suddenly, a piercing scream filled her ears and echoed around the room, frightening her to no ends. It didn't stop, didn't quiver. No one else was in the room except for her and her parents. So who was screaming? Her throat began to swell and dry, like a poison designed to kill. It was then she realised. It was her._

"_Sakura." A deep voice called her. She froze and swallowed to dampen her throat. No one had ever called her name before._

"_Sakura." The voice boomed louder, sending a shiver down her spine. She slowly found the dreadful room begin to move away from her, leaving her heading towards a white hole of light. She remained sprawled on the ground and outstretched an arm towards the dark room, wailing that she needed to save her parents – that it was all her fault. The explosion of white behind her dragged her closer and closer until she was enveloped by it..._

"Sakura." Sakura's eyes snapped open and she instantly felt the uncomfortable patches of sweat underneath her arms and her hair slicked to her forehead. When her eyes focused into the dark, she found herself sobbing uncontrollably. The darkness reminded her too much of the nightmare.

"No! Light. I need... light." She gasped in between wracks of pain, sitting up so her back leant against the wall with her knees brought up to her chest. Suddenly, an orange flame lightened up the room and she slapped her hands to her eyes, pulling her fingers through her hair as her eyes refused to adjust. Two hands were placed on her shoulders, causing her to peek through the gaps in her fingers at the person who seemed to be attempting to comfort her. Itachi's eyes were crimson and although his face was emotionless, his eyes were searching her drastically with worry. Her tears didn't stop and she wiped them away furiously with the back of her arm, removing her hands from her greasy hair. It was then she realised that she was trembling furiously and was barely able to think straight without horrifying images reappearing in her clouded mind.

"Sakura, you were screaming." The cool voice trickled down her spine and bounced inside her head. It seemed as though it had been years since a real voice had spoken to her. She said nothing and continued to watch worriedly as her hands trembled even more. Itachi noticed and took them in his own, halting the wavering. Sakura stared at him, her eyes still leaking salty, wet tears. He continued to hold her shaking hands, but turned his head away to stare at the wall when the staring became too extreme.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" He spoke with a calm facade, but the words were enough. Sakura let out a small sob, her lips twitching. It had been the first time since the nightmares had begun that someone had asked her that one little question. Usually she was forced to stay awake for many sleepless nights, controlling her own emotions, controlling her own trembling.

She pulled her hands quickly out of Itachi's grasp and flung her arms around his neck, burying her face into the crook and allowing the tears to flow heavily. She did not care for the awkwardness this would cause between them, she was still filled with fear and sadness but Itachi had voiced his concern and offered comfort. That made her hurt even more.

Itachi stiffened at the sudden contact and flinched when a tear dropped onto his neck, trickling down it slowly. This certainly was inconvenient and rather embarrassing for Sakura, considering how she was always so fiery and invincible. Self-consciously, he placed a gentle hand on her back and pulled her closer to him. To have someone like Sakura to cry hysterically after a nightmare... it frightened him. What could have happened to Sakura that she would have resort to seeking comfort from him after such a terrifying nightmare?

"Every... night." She sobbed into his neck, tightening her grip almost painfully. Itachi's ears pricked up as he listened to her incoherent explanation.

"Their deaths... my fault."

Her parents. It struck him only now that her parent's deaths were only a mere year ago, having heard many shinobi talking about it when walking through the village.

"_Did you hear about Haruno? Her parents were killed by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death when they went to defend her."_

"_I feel so sorry for the poor girl. To lose her parents to a snake like him."_

"_The 3rd Hokage disabled the bastard at least, but it won't bring them back. Maybe I should bring her something?"_

"_Did you just see Sakura Haruno? Man, she looked so depressed. It's such a shame."_

"_Everyone's talking about how Sakura Haruno is the 5th Hokage's apprentice. What a lucky girl, it's just what she needs."_

"_Did you hear? Sakura Haruno made Jonin. Good for her, I'm glad to see she's getting better." _

"_I saw that Sakura girl smiling the other day with the nine-tailed fox. It's good to see her friends are sticking by her."_

"_I hear Sakura Haruno was offered ANBU and she turned it down. I guess she didn't want to follow the same path as her parents. Poor girl."_

He wrapped his other arm around Sakura's back and closed his eyes as he let her cry into his shoulder. He knew that a short time after that incident, Naruto and Sasuke had left for a 4 month mission to search for Orochimaru. She had no shoulder during that time to cry on and it seemed these nightmares were plaguing her sleep. It was certainly problematic that she decided now would be a time to release all of that emotion, it hurt him to hear her – or anyone – cry so much pain at once. It was a while until the cries and sobs began to slow and the grip around his neck seemed to loosen. Sakura had emotionally drained herself and just as the sun was creeping in through the window, her weariness seemed to return.

"I'm sorry." She whispered thickly as her tears caught in her throat. Itachi inclined his head slightly into her direction and found she had rested her forehead gently on his collarbone, her red eyes swollen and fluttering closed. He let out a small breath, causing a few strands of her hair to flutter. He said nothing and slowly lifted her up from the bed, helping her to walk the small distance to the shower.

"Wash." He told her bluntly, pushing her into the bathroom lightly. She shuffled her feet across the cold tiles and closed the door behind her, not turning around to look at him. As soon as the door was closed and locked, Sakura crept over to the mirror and gazed at her reflection. Her face was swollen and red, as was her eyes and her hair stuck up in different directions and was still slightly damp with perspiration. The one difference was that now, a small smile was gracing her thin lips. She felt elated and nauseas, relieved and embarrassed, happy and stupid. She had released all of the horrible tears she had held after her parents death so suddenly that it felt good to have a little bit of herself back. But she had released those tears onto Itachi's shoulder. Itachi's...

Shuddering, she turned away, twisted the taps on the shower on with a little difficulty due to her post-trembling hands and then quickly disposed of her red and black clothes. She would wash away all evidence of her tears and remerge from the shower as she would any other day. It was then realization crippled through her body and she froze her scrubbing hands. It was her 18th birthday the next day - a special birthday. And she was going to be spending it here.

Not in the mood for her relaxing shower any longer, she again struggled with turning off the taps and stumbled out of the tub, redressing herself in the damp clothing. She let out a small scream of frustration, despite her urge to hold it back, and punched the wall again with her fist. Ino had planned out her birthday for her, predicting that it would take no time at all for her to kill a measly thief and now the spectacular plan was to go to waste. No doubt the Leaf Village would be in an uproar at that moment in time having discovered that an ANBU and the 5th's apprentice was captured and was most probably being tortured by the Akatsuki.

She opened the bathroom door and took a deep breath in when the cool air from the bedroom swept down her throat and cleared it from the steam she had been swathed in in the bathroom. Itachi was dressing himself in front of the mirror and stared at her in it, doing up one of the seams on his homemade shirt with his glowing blue hand. Sakura smiled weakly at him and slowly walked over to the bed, sitting on it with her hands tucked under her knees which were hanging from the bed. As silence stretched, she stared at the floor and waited for conversation to spark.

"I assume you are feeling better?" Itachi eventually spoke, doing up yet another seam. Sakura nodded, biting her lip to hold back the question she wished to ask Itachi. It would be wrong to change the subject so suddenly but Itachi seemed to realise that she was holding back something.

"What do you wish to ask?" He spoke coolly, turning his head away from the mirror a fraction to stare at her. She raised her head and watched his hand move around his body, straightening creases in his new t-shirt. She smirked, realising he had ripped up the Akatsuki cloak meant for him while she had been washing.

"It's been 6 days since we left Konoha. I've already figured that there isn't much chance of rescue. We searched for the Akatsuki Headquarters for 4 years to no avail so what's the chance of them finding us now?" Sakura gazed down at her chakra bracelet that she had attempted to slice one too many times and twisted it around her wrist. "This stops us from any ways of escape, communication or making our chakra detectable. It's impossible for anyone to find us."

Itachi listened, unsure as to where the conversation was going. She was repeating all that he had thought through already. Sakura raised her head to stare at the raven-haired man and saw he was staring equally back, awaiting her to continue. She sighed and turned her head sideways, giving him a glimpse of her perfect jaw line.

"It's my 18th birthday tomorrow." She spoke in a small whisper. Seconds after she spoke she felt stupid to have raised such a pointless issue to Itachi, of all people. He had stiffened spectacularly, she realised from glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. It surprised her that the comment had caused such an effect on him, as much as it had on her. Tears threatened to spill out of her watering eyes but she didn't allow them to. The stupidity she felt was beyond that of the emotions she had experienced earlier and she stood up, wishing she could eat her words. It was then that Itachi crossed the room and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, causing her to yelp with surprise.

"What-"

"I am sorry, Sakura," Itachi loosened his hold on her a little so he could tilt his mouth towards her ear and whisper his apology. Although his tone was indifferent, her eyes widened over his shoulder and the tears remerged from her already swollen eyes. What was Itachi doing? It was then she realised he was attempting to comfort her. She smiled and lifted her arms to return the embrace, laughing ever-so-slightly and resting her forehead against Itachi's shoulder

"Itachi, you said yourself you are fed-up with dealing with a reckless teenage girl. You don't have to comfort me." It felt strange, being comforted by someone who she had known all her life, yet who was a stranger to her. Itachi released her slowly and stepped back, his lips curled upward into what could have been a heart-breaking smile if he had made the effort. It blew Sakura away for a short moment as it was completely unexpected.

"Being held captive with a young adult is beginning to interfere with my emotions. You are to blame." One corner of his lips curled upward into the closest thing to a smile yet and she felt herself smiling with him. Gone was the suspicion that the morning would cause awkwardness between them. It seemed to have done the complete opposite and brought them that one step closer.

~*~

Deidara hummed as he made his way to the kunoichi's room, tapping his fingers on his legs as he strolled through the endless winding corridors with a sly grin planted on his pale face. It had been a while since he had last been out on a mission where the target was to be punished by death and on top of the fact he had a new mission, the cherry blossom would be accompanying him for his own entertainment. Pain had been rather pressing on the matter that they were to be brought along for the simple assassination. They, meaning that the pathetic ANBU would have to be brought along too. He wrinkled his nose at this as he approached their door and placed his hand on the door handle, ready to open it. Then he realised he could hear Sakura speaking and decided to eavesdrop. Who knows what they were talking about?

"... or making our chakra detectable. It's impossible for anyone to find us." A short silence followed this and Deidara wondered for a moment whether or not they had felt his presence, although this was impossible. He pressed his ear closer to the door in case the volume of their conversation had dropped but still heard silence. He was about to make his entrance when he heard Sakura's voice again.

"It's my 18th birthday tomorrow." His eyes widened and he moved his head away from the door. The young kunoichi was to turn 18 tomorrow? Smirking, he found pleasure in many ideas that ran through his head in order to make that day even more terrible for the loud-mouthed girl. Yet, as these ideas ran through his mind he found he had no intention of following through with them; he began to feel something in the pit of his stomach which he had not felt since before he had joined the Akatsuki. The smile fell off of his face as the feeling began to slowly make his limbs ache and head hurt. Guilt.

Furious that he had wasted time in feeling such a disgusting emotion, he opened the door quickly causing it to slam and make both shinobi flinch. They were standing opposite and quite close to each other and both had turned to stare at the intruder. Itachi merely rolled his eyes fractionally before returning to the mirror to complete his t-shirt, but Sakura glared at Deidara for causing her to jump with fright.

"Idiot," She hissed to him. "What do you want?"

Deidara smirked, leaning up against the doorframe and crossing his arms and legs. Sakura narrowed her eyes warily at him and sat herself down onto the small bed behind her, awaiting his answer.

"You will be accompanying me on a mission." The words caused both Itachi and Sakura to stiffen up, both with equal expressions of distaste. Sakura slung herself to her feet and stalked over to the blonde, Itachi making no move to stop her. Deidara was eyeing her up with satisfaction. This was just how he wanted her to take it.

"I am not going to help you disgusting men to do your dirty deeds." She spat, pressing her face abnormally close to Deidara's. He eyed her back, moving his face forwards so the tips of their noses were touching.

"Yes, you are." He ordered, grinning. Sakura grasped a handful of the blondes cloak and shoved him against the wall.

"Make me." She answered back, poising her arm for a punch. Deidara lifted both of his arms in the air as though to display his innocence and suddenly flipped her over so she was the one leaning against the wall. Deidara placed both of his hands on her hips and moved forwards so his mouth was brushing against her ear.

"I won't, but Pain will." He whispered almost seductively. Sakura struggled slightly but stopped when Deidara gripped her wrist and moved backwards, holding it up in front of her face. The thin strap of blue caused her to wince.

"It was either we wait for you to cooperate, or we use this to send a shock through you. It's either you do or you don't." Deidara shrugged and dropped her wrist so it fell back down to her side. Sakura frowned at the floor in thought and was only aware that Deidara was still there when he suddenly leant forwards and stole a kiss from her cheek.

"See ya in 5!" He waved a hand at Sakura, who was now red and very very mad. Swiftly, he shut the door and escaped the wrath of his actions, laughing out loud when a crack came from the other side of the door meaning she had punched it in fury.

"I'll kill that bastard." Sakura muttered angrily under her breath, keeping her head down to hide her reddened face. She turned back around when she cooled down and risked a glance at Itachi. He seemed to be frowning at his reflection, obviously pondering what to do as his hands had frozen half-way through connecting the last seam. Sakura sighed and headed over to him, taking his hands away from it and doing it herself.

"What do you suggest, O' mighty Leader." Sakura spoke sarcastically while sticking together the last of his t-shirt. Itachi smirked down at her head and raised his gaze back to the mirror to stare at his own pale reflection again, the smirk instantly fading away.

"In all honesty, we have no choice." Sakura's hands froze for a millisecond before continuing. It was obvious she was trying to hide the pained expression she held but it was slipping through.

"What if we have to kill a family?" She whispered after a short silence. Itachi stared at her reflection in the mirror then looked away, stepping sideways as he did so.

"We will not kill anyone unless we are certain that what they have done is wr-"

"COME ON YOU TWO, HURRY IT UP." Deidara burst into the room, throwing them both plain black cloaks. They caught them swiftly, staring at Deidara with blank expressions.

"Couldn't you act a little more like a captor?" Sakura swung the heavy cloak around her shoulders and discreetly glanced at Itachi, who had followed her actions. When he stared back, she sighed in defeat. They had no choice but to follow the Akatsuki's orders, he had said, so they were to go on this mission. The mission that could consist of any murderous activity.

"What is it you wish for us to do?" Itachi spoke boldly, grasping his cloak around his neck. Deidara tore his eyes away from Sakura to look at Itachi, the gleam instantly dissipating and turning into a look of distaste. He tapped his nose and grinned slyly.

"Secret." Deidara pushed open the door and stood aside for them to leave, eyeing Sakura up perversely as she left. She made sure to 'accidentally' kick him in the ankle as she passed.

~*~

"No."

"Blossom, look at the situation here. You have no choice."

"Get someone else to do it, idiot."

"Stop being so damn difficult and put it on."

"I don't trust you."

"Well duh, of course you don't. So put it on."

Sakura raised her nose into the air and crossed her shivering arms, closing her eyes in refusal. Deidara began to growl in the bottom of his throat, his raised arm still clutching the black material. Sakura opened one eye to stare at it and moved her head further to the side so she it was more obscured from her view. Deidara took one single step forward.

"Pain won't allow you to leave unless you are blindfolded and tied. We can't let you see the location." He thrust the material even more into Sakura's direction. "If you won't do it yourself, I'll do it for you. Or better yet, you can leave the Headquarters unconscious."

Sakura grimaced at this and opened both her eyes to stare at him, considering the choices. Reluctantly, she reached out and grabbed the silky material, tying it around her head to prevent her from seeing. Itachi had done the same and had been waiting patiently for her to accept the fabric.

"Stupid Akatsuki." Sakura adjusted the cloth so it was comfortable and stood still, waiting to be led out of the large wooden door. Deidara's clammy hand rested on her bare shoulder and a creak echoed down the dark hallway, signifying the door had been opened. A wave of cold wind caused Sakura to shiver involuntarily and a light push caused her to step forwards.

It felt amazing yet sad that she was inhaling clean oxygen for the first time in six days – her lungs could barely handle it. It was a long time of silence and walking until Deidara pulled on her shoulder to stop her from walking further. The material was then dropped from her aching eyes and she hurriedly looked around to observe the surroundings. They were in the same place they had been captured in six days ago. Itachi had frozen, Sakura noticed, and she could almost hear his mind buzzing with questions, possibilities and answers.

Deidara slapped Itachi on the arm, attracting his instant attention. Deidara smiled slightly, raising a finger up as though about to scold him.

"You can calculate the distance and what directions we have taken but it will still get you nowhere. We have already made sure of that." He tapped the blue bracelet on Itachi's wrist and his smile widened. "This ensures that the directions we took were different for you then it was for me. You just got a false lead. I must tell Kiko she did an exceptionally good job." Deidara winked at the passive Itachi, whom was obviously displeased with this information. Sakura narrowed her eyes at Deidara's back as he continued to walk and unwillingly followed.

"It would be helpful if you would tell us everything this fucking bracelet did beforehand." Sakura cursed him disgustedly. Deidara flinched at the use of the swear word and grinned at her.

"You have a quite a mouth, Sakura. And if we told you what the bracelet did, it wouldn't be as fun would it? You should consider yourselves lucky to have such a jutsu on you; Kiko is the only one in this world who can do it and it takes a substantial amount of chakra to keep it withheld." He explained as they trekked through the trees, deeper into the forest. Sakura poked her tongue out at his back, knowing full well that he could not see the immature action. Itachi snorted beside her.

"When do you plan to tell us exactly where we are going and what we are doing?" Sakura spoke after a short moment's silence. Deidara flickered his eyes at her and then moved them to the floor.

"We are going after that thief you were sent out to capture. Michio Watabe, I believe his name was. He has been interfering with our work and needs to be killed." Deidara looked at the both of them with an evil glint in his eye.

"I really could have done this by myself, the methods I use would probably taint your poor little mind, blossom. But Pain insisted you be brought along and I really couldn't resist." He leaped up onto a tree branch, gesturing for them to follow.

"Don't you usually need a partner with you? You travel in pairs." Sakura mentioned, frowning in confusion. Deidara winced and gritted his teeth, a tic in his cheek beginning to throb. Giving herself at a triumphant smile when she realised that he couldn't answer, she gracefully leapt beside him.

"How is it you know this persons location?" Itachi asked, landing beside Sakura on the tree branch. Deidara cast him a distasteful look before obliging to his question.

"We have many clients willing to rat out the positions of criminals for aah... certain payment." Deidara's smirk and pause indicated there was more to the statement that met the eye, but neither Sakura nor Itachi dared to ask for more. As Deidara began to jump through the trees at an immense speed, he called out over his shoulder:

"You better keep up! Who knows what'll happen if you go too far away from me." He cast his eyes down to each of their bracelets and held back an obvious snigger, speeding up. Sakura cursed at him under his breath and for the first time ever, she heard Itachi doing the same. They had no choice but to follow his orders and they were to work for the Akatsuki unwillingly until... Sakura almost froze. When would they be set free?

**To Be Continued...**

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**A/N: It's kinda short and I was going to be making it really long, but I left it too long really. I plan to update pretty swiftly on this, I know how annoying it is to wait for updates.**

**I don't know if I rushed into the whole 'Itachi being nice' thing, but I haven't shown any romantic interest between the two yet; they simply keep on being caught as though in them by Deidara. Aaaww, Deidara has no lovin'.**

**Keep reading, keep reviewing. Thanks! ^_^  
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	7. Sparks

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**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

"I thought you said this would only take a few hours?" Sakura crossed her aching arms and frowned at a lively Deidara, who was agitatedly hyper during their resting time. Itachi had tried to discreetly slump against a tree to regain his energy, but Sakura caught it. So even Itachi had trouble keeping up with the irritating blond.

"Well, I guess I meant it would only take a few hours if I didn't have to slow down for you two."

Sakura ignored his jibe and rubbed her forehead tiredly, sinking to the floor and resting against the harsh bark of a tree behind her. Deidara stood, still jittering and bouncing uncontrollably.

"Will you sit down?" She snapped after a few extra minutes of his infuriating vigorousness. Deidara halted almost immediately, sniffing the air cautiously and frowning. Sakura watched in amusement as he imitated a dog hunting its prey. She opened her mouth to make a jip about it, but he had opened his beforehand and the words that fell from him frightened her.

"I smell ramen."

It could have been a nearby log house, or an aroma that had simply been carried up from a close by village; however some sort of whim told her otherwise. She shook it off - Naruto couldn't be anywhere near their current position and he surely wouldn't be stupid enough to have such a potent scent. Nonetheless, she rose to her feet and stretched all of her limbs.

"I need to use the bush." She joked, heading toward the archway of dark forest. Deidara perked up and grasped her wrist before she could progress. She snapped her head around to glare at him, opening her mouth to enquire his actions.

"Travel too far and you know what'll happen." Deidara warned, releasing her wrist and pointedly looking at the blue bracelet. She grimaced, turning her back on him and stepping over a damp log.

"Yeah, I know." She replied coldly under her breath. It was about time she tested the limit on the chakra bracelet anyhow and what better time to do it? She ducked under a hanging branch and gently pushed it away with the back of her arm. The blue of the bracelet seemed to be switching to a lilac tint the further she walked and she figured that the moment it was all purple... well, it certainly wasn't good to think about it. Her thoughts were wandering aimlessly around her tired mind and it was only when a gloved hand clasped over her mouth did she snap out of her stupor.

"Sakura, don't scream. It's me."

She stopped squirming and pulled away the clothed, familiar arm from her mouth, turning around to stare in astonishment at the dark shadow.

"Sasuke?"

A quiet grunt assured her of her statement and her eyes widened. Why Sasuke smelt so much of ramen was beyond her at the moment and she leaned forward suddenly, clutching both of his shoulders and scanning the surroundings warily.

"Do you have any idea how much danger you're in?" She hissed, tightening her grip. Even in the shadows, it was clear Sasuke was looking quite surprised. She'd never taken such a harsh tone with him before.

"How did you find us?" She asked him another question when his silence began to stretch. He shook off her grasp and crossed his arms, turning his head.

"I've been following you since you emerged from the forest in the spot you were taken from. I was searching for anything that could have brought a lead and suddenly you turned up out of the blue." He sent an eye into her direction. "Hokage's orders, of course."

Sakura ignored his pathetic cover-up of his worry for them and rubbed her forehead in annoyance, keeping her eyes planted on his face. She was overwhelmed to see such a familiar face again, but the position she was in was keeping her from expressing that. Sure; she could tell Sasuke to head back and tell the Hokage about the jutsu she was under, but Deidara had said himself that it was newly-developed. Even if her teacher knew how to break it, it would be no use as Deidara would have told them to move on long before she could receive the message back. Her mind whirred with possible ways of getting information back to the Hokage, but there was so much to say in such little time.

"Sasuke, there's no way you can help me and Itachi now." She lifted her head, lowering her voice a notch. Sasuke frowned and bent down.

"What? What do you mean?"

Sakura shook her wrist and the chakra bracelet jiggled. His eyes flickered to it, confusion still present in his cold eyes.

"It's keeping us hostage." Concern instantly flashed across his face. "Oh, don't worry. They're actually treating us more well then we expected. They need us to get them stronger and-"

"Blossom. How about you introduce me to your friend? Oh, but haven't we met before?"

She froze, her back turning rigid as a looming figure appeared behind Sasuke. Sasuke, too, went rigid, but his face remained expressionless. His eyes, however, glittered with terror and fret. Sakura swallowed down her fright and plucked up the courage to act as though she wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Bug off, idiot. I'm trying to talk with a friend here." Sasuke couldn't contain the shock on his face at her obliviousness to the insolence she sent towards a murderer that could very well kill her. Deidara hissed.

"How about I kill said friend and then we continue with our mission."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat momentarily, but she shook off the nerve and started towards Sasuke, stopping at his side.

"Don't judge a scroll by its title." She murmured, before strolling past Deidara and grasping his wrist to drag him along. "Go home, Sasuke. Me and Itachi can handle ourselves." She ignored Deidara's wriggling and continued to pull him back towards the area they were resting in. Itachi was sitting up tightly and staring intensely at the arch way that separated the side of the road from the dark forest.

"Sasuke." He muttered to himself. Sakura felt a pang of guiltiness for just leaving Sasuke with little information and a harsh order, but the message was clear; leave, or you'll get killed. She had at least left him with the quote she hoped would get back to the Leaf village. Whether or not they had wrongly judged the Akatsuki was still to be decided by her, but they were being sent to kill the thief they were recently pursuing were they not? From what she had experienced so far, they were only completing the mission they had originally failed to complete.

"I could go back there and kill him; you wouldn't be able to stop me." Deidara said through gritted teeth after Sakura released him. He straightened his clothes and was obviously rattled at the loss of pride he had experienced after being dragged away by Sakura.

"You could, but then Itachi would kill you. Sure, it would mean he'd get killed too, but you'd be dead so you won't be able to laugh at him." Sakura commented carelessly, slumping down on the ground beside Itachi and wrapping her arms around her legs. She was trying to hide the disappointed expression she held on her face from Deidara. If it wasn't for the pesky bracelet, she and Itachi could have escaped by taking Deidara on and then fled with Sasuke back to the Leaf village.

"I'm not waiting here any longer, let's get going." Deidara grumbled, clutching Sakura's elbow and hauling her up to her feet. She scowled and ripped her arm from his fierce hold.

"I'm not going anywhere until I've had enough rest. We don't all have stamina like yours." She crossed her arms defiantly and replaced herself next to Itachi.

"We'll find a lodge, just get off your fat ass and start walking." His voice was low and almost threatening. Sakura was oblivious to this and opened her mouth to retort to both the insult and the fact that she would be spending her birthday in a run-down lodge, but Itachi lightly gripped her elbow.

"Don't." The first word he had spoke to her in over five hours sent a cold shiver down her spine. He sounded weary, annoyed and tense. Of course; it was a lot harder for someone like Itachi to work with 'criminals' after being so dedicated to ANBU, but it was just as hard for her as it was for him.

"Are you alright?" She hadn't realised she had voiced the question she was meant to keep inside until Itachi cave her a incredulous look, slowly followed by a deep frown.

"It is none of your concern." He snapped almost angrily. She flinched away from him, shock tearing across her tired face. Well, there goes the theory that they were getting closer.

"No need to bite my head off." She muttered, scrambling to her feet and pushing past Deidara. _Note number six; Itachi does not like concern for him. _"Let's just leave already; I'm sick of it out here."

Itachi stared after the flustered kunoichi and slight remorse tripped through him. He hadn't meant to be so harsh to her; it's just he had never been so easily read by someone who was not even close to him. How she had figured that he was in such a foul mood was beyond him and it certainly wasn't what he wanted. He rose to his feet also and walked after the two other nin, plunging his hands into the pockets of his trousers and wishing that he had not been so careless those 6 days ago.

~*~

Sakura's eyes glazed over as she stared down the elegant hallway and the unmistakable scent of those delicious roses that were always placed in lodges such as these. Deidara had kept his promise and had purchased two rooms for the night in one of the most comfortable hotels she had ever occupied on a mission.

"How did you afford all this?" She whispered to Deidara as he opened one of the rooms, frustratingly rattling with the keys. He answered with a grunt and pushed the door open with his arm, gesturing for Sakura to go through first. Her eyes swept across the luscious duvets, the on-suite bathroom, the complimentary drinks; just about everything was brightening her mood.

Itachi strolled in passively, not showing the emotions that he felt inside. He was, in fact, relieved that they would be sleeping in a hotel room instead of the cold, hard floor outside. The temperature had dropped rapidly since they had begun to head out and he was not one for the cold. Deidara tugged roughly at his plain black t-shirt, feeling uncomfortable without the safety of his cloak encasing him. Well, he couldn't walk into a hotel with his cloak on; it was certain to draw attention.

Sakura was so busy bathing in the duvets that she didn't notice what Deidara had suddenly implied to Itachi.

"I don't think that is necessary." Itachi brought his cold eyes to Deidara, who was grinning at the ANBU Captain.

"Come on, it's not like you really have a choice here." Deidara may have been grinning, but it certainly didn't reach his eyes. His eyes were patronizing and mocking as though begging Itachi to protest. The Uchiha turned his head to look at the pink-haired kunoichi who was innocently checking out every inch of the room.

"No. I _do_ have a choice and I am saying that you will not be sharing a room with Sakura." The black eyes turned on Deidara, suddenly murderous. Deidara flinched outwardly, ignoring the triumphant smirk that Itachi threw at him. He gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, well, that blue thing says otherwise." He pointed at Itachi's wrist and got ready to throw Itachi a triumphant smirk of his own, but found that the smirk remained on the Uchiha's face.

"Killing me over such a trivial matter is surely suicide on your end." The mockery behind Itachi's emotionless tone was clear and Deidara hissed.

"Hey, guys, who's sleeping where?" Sakura called out, distracting the two from their showdown. Her sharp mind never one to let things slip, she frowned in suspicion at the two of them.

"Who killed the cat?" She said mockingly, the hint of seriousness behind it clear. Deidara snapped around and yanked open the hotel door, slamming it harshly behind him. Itachi hid his smirk of victory, analysing the blue glow to the room as Deidara obviously placed a chakra shield on it from the outside.

Sakura watched the Uchiha carefully as he wandered around the room, observing the same things she had squealed over moments ago.

"Itachi."

He swept his gaze over to Sakura, generally forgetting that she was still awaiting an answer to the tense atmosphere she had felt between him and Deidara earlier. He regarded her inactively, brushing his fingers along the wood of the elegant table subconsciously.

"He requested that you stay with him for the evening." He said coolly, turning his back on her to study a posh picture hanging from the cream wall. Sakura shuddered when she imagined sleeping beside the arrogant blonde.

"Like that's gonna happen."

Itachi resisted the urge to smirk at her response and twisted his head over his shoulder to look at Sakura. She met his gaze.

"You shower first." He lifted his foot to the door that was beside him and nudged it open with his toe. She stared into the warm, comforting-looking bathroom and her eyes glazed over with awe. She automatically lifted herself from the bed and seemed to be in a trance as she made her way through it. When the door closed, Itachi stared at it. Shaking his head, he brought his gaze away and he settled on sitting on the bed until Sakura emerged.

~*~

"Happy birthday!" Sakura screwed her closed eyes tighter and rubbed an arm along her forehead, removing her other arm from underneath the luxurious pillow. She knew that Itachi would never cheer so happily at her, so she cracked open an eye and stared at the irritating blonde who was grinning down at her. For a moment, grief passed through her. This time last year, another certain irritating blonde had awoken her in the exact same way.

"Leave me alone." She grumbled, turning over. She froze when Itachi's open eyes met hers. She blushed and coughed nervously.

"It's so easy to forget that we share..." She muttered, turning back over. Movement beside her meant that Itachi had sat up from the sea of quilts and she clutched the quilts closer to her chin, stealing some from his side and regretting it soon after. They were still warm from his body.

"It's my birthday. I get a lay in." She didn't feel emotionally or physically ready to get up. Sure, waking up to a hotel like the one she was currently in was loads better then waking up in some broken down lodge, but it still stung when she considered that today, on her 18th birthday, she would be killing a thief and then returning to a secret hideout which was filled with a bunch of merciless killers.

Her warm shell of quilt was suddenly whipped from her, the chilly air causing her to automatically curl up into a ball and shriek. Deidara threw her a victorious grin and threw the quilts onto the floor.

"Up." He ordered, kicking the end of the bed with his shoe. Itachi was less then amused at his antics so early in the morning and frowned, getting up from the side of the bed and lifting Deidara from the back of his t-shirt, revealing some pretty impressive abs.

"What are you doing?! GET OFF ME." Deidara kicked and flailed about comically as Itachi lifted him and opened the door to their suite, placing the very disgruntled and pissed off Deidara outside of it.

"You will remain out here until we are both ready." Itachi spoke darkly, slamming the door in the blondes face. Sakura snickered quietly to herself, glad that she had gotten revenge on Deidara whether it was her doing or not; he should have known Itachi was not a morning person. She already had that duly noted. She sat up rigidly as Itachi walked into the bathroom, realisation spreading across her face. Deidara... since when did he know it was her birthday?

~*~

Sakura trudged slowly behind Deidara, her forehead dripping with sweat as it poured down her aching neck and seeped through her clothing. Considering the cold weather that they had had yesterday, it had come to a shock that the heat was so piercing.

"How much farther? Surely the target would have moved by now?" She hissed through clenched teeth, frustrated that she was being forced to slog through such dreadful weather. Deidara tapped his chin in mock thought and turned sharply right, causing Sakura to stumble and turn right too.

"I think we should find him just about... here." He stopped walking. Sakura observed her surroundings hurriedly and her brow creased in confusion. They were still standing in the middle of the forest. She turned her head towards Deidara and re-clenched her teeth.

"If this is a joke, I'm not finding it very funny."

Deidara threw a boyish grin at her and jumped into the air, alarming Sakura. It was then she realised a kunai had been thrown from the side of the dusty pathway and he had jumped in order to dodge it. Itachi – who had remained silent as usual – activated his Sharingan and glared at the figure that emerged from the bushes in a blur, clashing kunai with Deidara whom was still levitating in the air. A bald man met blonde and a smirk slid across Deidara's face.

"Why, hello Michio." He swung a leg around to kick the thief in mid-air, but it was dodged and Michio flew backward, throwing several shuriken into Deidara's direction. Sakura watched on, helpless, as the fight continued. Well, what use were she and Itachi really? Itachi could use his Sharingan and his Mangekyo Sharingan (although even that was restricted) and she could use enough chakra to heal. Her jutsus were useless.

Suddenly, a kick sent Michio into her direction and she found herself completely unfocused. She stood there motionless, wondering what to do as the sweaty, bald man was sent into her direction. She screwed her eyes shut and awaited the dreaded impact, but a gust of air and a familiar smell swept past her, the light underneath her eyelids darkening meaning someone was standing in front of her. She cracked open an eye and saw herself staring at Itachi's back.

"Focus, Sakura. Don't act so weak." His voice cut through her and she could almost see the daggers poking from her side. She narrowed her vermillion eyes and anger boiled in her stomach. Who was he to say she was being weak? She had worked hard to achieve what she had and he was telling her she was still weak? Noticing Deidara throwing a hard punch at Michio, she quickly sidestepping and infused her fist with chakra, walloping the approaching Michio hard across the skull. Itachi had barely noticed the movement and stared in surprise as the thief fell motionless to the ground. His thick neck looked as though it had twisted many times around itself and Sakura kept her eyes fiercely on the bald man, her small chest heaving up and down with breath that she figured she must have been holding. After her anger had dissipated, she smiled weakly and almost maliciously, not noticing Deidara who had slowly approached to observe the very dead thief.

"Christ." He cursed, no amusement behind his voice. The blossom he had so relentlessly teased had killed the man without flickering one of her luscious lashes and, observing the damage closely, it seemed as though every bone in the man's body was almost disintegrated. It almost made him sick; and he was one of the most bloodthirsty out of the Akatsuki.

"Sakura, you-" Deidara's words caught in his throat as her body crumpled in the air, sending her towards the ground. He looked at her alarmingly, rushing to her side and ignored the crippled body he tripped over. Itachi reached her side at the same moment.

"Sakura!" He worryingly tapped the side of her face and brushed a strand of pink hair from her face, checking her pulse quickly with his fumbling hands. Itachi watched the charade, an unusual feeling crawling under his skin, reaching the back of his spine and all the way to his hands. He wanted Deidara's hands off of her.

"She is breathing; she just channelled too much chakra into that punch. Leave her to me."

Ash met soot. Itachi stared at Deidara blankly, although his eyes dared silently for the blonde to object. Deidara glared back equally, his eyes yelling that he was eager to shout his protest. Deidara tightened his grip on Sakura's wrist and then swiftly hauled her into his arms, ignoring the glare he received from the Uchiha.

"I believe it's my responsibility to make sure none of you idiots die. I'm carrying her back." Deidara moved her limp figure to his back, so her arms were slung over his shoulders and her head rested limply on his back. Itachi hated this burning fire inside him; it was worse than any kunai being driven through his stomach. It wouldn't go away. Just like his eyes wouldn't move from Deidara's back.

They jumped through the trees in an intense silence, both of them having a silent argument amongst each other. The blazing hatred radiated from the both of them clearly, though they were equally as confused as the other as to why they hated so much. Itachi creased his brow as he leapt through the trees, keeping one focused eye on the blonde ahead of him and the limp, fuchsia figure on his back. The loud manner that Deidara used was irritating and his habit of teasing them both exceeded any boldness he had ever witnessed before; was that why he hated him so much? Was this why whenever he watched the way Sakura's eyes were alight with amusement when she argued with Deidara, that he felt like punching a wall just as she had done in her anger? Her expressions may have been contorted with anger and annoyance, but her eyes lied. Her eyes told him that each time her and Deidara had a light spat, she was enjoying herself. He would never be able to provide her with such entertainment. Did that bother him? He almost shook his head to reassure himself. He would be beside Sakura to help her when she needed him as a Captain. That was all.

Deidara threw an eye back at the Uchiha, who was remaining as emotionless as ever, though his creased brow showed he was in intense thought. What was the idiot's problem? He wanted to make sure that the captive of his master didn't die or end up in the hands of the arrogant Captain, who could well try to escape and have the blossom killed. It was bad enough that the poor girl had to put up with the ridiculous Itachi at night, with his warm body beside her – he cut himself off. It was none of his business how close his blossom and the ANBU was; he just enjoyed winding her up and causing her anger to overload. That was all.

Sakura felt herself moving through the air and she moved slightly, not even having the energy to groan at the ache that ran throughout her entire body. The wind whipped at her pink locks, and she cracked open her eyes as little as she could. She was jumping through the forest; that much she knew. But... her eyes caught sight of Itachi, who was looking thoroughly pissed off. He may not have known how much emotion was showing, but it was clear. That was definite agitation on his face. She froze suddenly, as blonde hair swept in front of her vision. Moving her head vaguely to catch a glimpse of the person she carried suddenly made her stomach turmoil. Deidara was carrying her. Why wasn't Itachi?

She screwed her eyes shut as Deidara stooped, dropping lower to another branch. She squeezed her grip around his neck and pulled herself closer, her body refusing to allow her to open her eyes again. She hurt all over; probably due to the overuse of chakra. Tsunade had warned her about the side effects of a full-blown punch; she had only used half of the required chakra to throw that punch. Her chakra had deteriorated however and she shivered in the suddenly freezing weather. The warmth of the body underneath her comforted her and she tightened her arms around the smooth neck of Deidara's, enveloping her face in his cloak. It was a few minutes before she lost consciousness again.

Itachi had seen it. She had regained consciousness for a few minutes, maybe less. But he had seen the way she tightened her hold around Deidara; the way she snuggled deeper into his cloak. He was going to tell Deidara to stop to allow Itachi to check her out. But her actions stopped him. The feeling returned, piercing his stomach again and shooting right up to his heart. He winced, focusing on the branches ahead of him. He would speak to Sakura when they arrived back at the headquarters; he would lay down the rules that needed to be laid. He wouldn't allow a loyal Leaf Village shinobi to fall into the hands of someone from the Akatsuki, especially not Sakura.

**To Be Continued...**

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**A/N: Again, sorry for the relatively short chapter. It came to about 4,500 words including the authors note. (sorry) I really don't know how this turned out. I was on a roll towards the end, but I don't know if I rushed the whole 'Itachi possessiveness' thing. I seemed to think it was really quite sweet. (removed this section of authors note due a very thorough review. thanks Nat19th, I get your point. xD)  
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**Anyhow, I was wondering if people could point out any loopholes I've missed. Like, for instance, the fact that Sakura could have broken out of the hotel room, or why she and Itachi are still imprisoned in a shielded room, or why Deidara only booked two rooms instead of one. I am aware of those loopholes, but I don't want to find a way around them.**

**I will only be uploading a chapter if you people review and tell me of mistakes or whether or not you like where the story is going! A lot more intense stuff will be coming up, this is really only sort of a beginning of the whole thing.**

**Review, or I may never upload again! :O**


	8. Accusation

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**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

Sakura awoke from her deep slumber with a groan, her body aching in spots that she never even knew could ache. Her eyes gently fluttered open upon their own accord and she observed the familiar ceiling that she had grown to know and hate. Awaking each morning to the dull grey was more then a sharp reminder of the current situation she would be in for a while.

"Your foolishness is beyond even that of Naruto."

Sakura stiffened at the voice so close to her right ear and she cast her eyes towards the source. Itachi was lying beside her, his head propped up with his hand and giving her a look which only meant that lectures and scolding is what she would receive for the rest of the morning. She frowned. Or evening. Or afternoon. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember what time of day it was and why exactly she hurt so much in the first place.

"Although the method you used to kill the thief was one that I would deem impressive, it certainly seemed out of character." Itachi turned over and rested an arm behind his head, staring at the bland ceiling. Sakura's eyes widened as she focused on Itachi, her memory coming back. The sickening crunch of the thief's neck that had yelled out her victory seemed to have brought her a strange sense of adrenaline and she felt guilty for that. Sure; it had taken what remained of her already-exhausted chakra, but at least she had proven what she was worth. However, it seemed to have had the opposite effect on Itachi.

"It doesn't concern you with what methods I use to kill. The Mangekyou Sharingan can hardly be called a suitable technique for you, so don't talk to me about being out of character." Sakura croaked back, her retort slightly less snappy then she had intended, what with the croak. The reaction she received – a light grunt – was more than she expected. Usually, after having such a retort thrown back at him, he would narrow his eyes in annoyance or at least manage to come back with a reply that would make her hesitate.

A long silence followed as Sakura used what chakra she had regained to ease her aching muscles. Itachi was deep in thought and she could have sworn from the view she was laying that he was even mildly irritated and stressed. A knock at the door snapped both of them out of their thoughts and Itachi's eyes narrowed defensively at it.

"Oi, is blossom up yet?" Deidara's voice echoed through the chakra-shielded wood and Sakura was surprised to hear that it did not hold its usual patronizing tone. She opened her mouth to reply, but Itachi clamped a hand over it.

"No, I am afraid she is still unconscious." Sakura's eyes widened at the lie Itachi so easily fed Deidara. With a light grunt, footsteps faded into the distance, indicating that Deidara had moved from the door. Sakura pushed Itachi's arm away and frowned at him, her eyes glowing defiantly.

"Still unconscious am I? I'll show you unconscious-"

"Sakura, you are aware of our situation, correct?" Itachi's interruption caused her to go rigid. Of course she was aware of the situation they were in – they were hostages for the bloody, frickin' katski. She didn't say this out loud of course; she knew that the tone Itachi used told her that he did not expect an answer.

Itachi kept his back to her at all times, probably meaning that he would not be able to continue his lecture without showing emotions. She frowned - what was he getting at?

"The Akatsuki are murderers and we cannot forget that. Therefore, fraternising with the enemy is out of the question." If possible, Sakura's heart stopped beating momentarily. Fraternising with enemy? What kind of idea had Itachi got into his head?

It was then that it struck her. Deidara had carried her back, Deidara had been the one who had been the source of her amusement over the days of her capture. Itachi had gotten the completely wrong idea and now he thought that she was _fraternising with the enemy. _She let out a bitter laugh and ran a hand through her pink hair, her aching pains gone and an irritation beyond that she had ever felt before replacing them.

"Are you joking? How old do you think I am? I am _18-years-old, _I've been elected for ANBU and I'm the apprentice of the Hokage, who also happens to be a legendary Sannin. You think I don't _know _that fraternising with the enemy is strictly forbidden? You're well-known for your observation skills, _Captain_, but this time, you've really gotten the wrong idea." She noticed his shoulders go rigid and attempted to bite her tongue, but it didn't work. Inner Sakura was more pissed over the comment he had made than she was – although for what reason, she didn't know.

"I'm not like you, Itachi. I won't sit around and take whatever gets thrown at me without at least causing a fuss. Deidara – he _created _annoyance. So I find it fun to piss him off and I enjoy his company at times when you certainly don't fit the bill. But you think that's gonna stop me from kicking his ass when we're free. I'll kill him 20 times over when we're finished here and I'll make sure that pretty little Pain is left to pick up the pieces, then hell, I'll FUCK AROUND WITH HIM TOO." Her voice raised towards the end, releasing all her anger at once. Itachi had turned around now and was observed her flustered face and heaving chest, her expression no longer holding anger, but hurt too. What did she care? Her team leader had accused her wrongly of something she was even unaware about herself.

"Sakura-" Itachi began to reply, but his words caught in his throat when the door to the room slammed open and a pissed-off Deidara presented himself.

"Hey blossom, how 'bout you shout a little louder? I'm pretty sure they didn't hear you in Konoha." Sakura ignored his comment, more relieved to see the blonde than she ever thought she would feel. She pushed herself up from the bed, untwining her feet from the sheets and crawling absentmindedly over Itachi's legs, ignoring the warmth that seeped through. Deidara seemed to have noticed the tense atmosphere between her and the Captain and remained silent, observing her actions. She approached him with a blank expression, strolling past out of the room and tugging on his sleeve.

"Come on, Deidara. I don't want to stay in there and I need an escort if I want to be loose." Without meaning too, he blushed at the mention of his name that had so carelessly slipped through her lips while he stared after her as she dragged him. It had been the first time she had called him by his name – something really must've riled her up in order for her to forget to insult him. The door to Itachi and Sakura's room slammed shut, leaving a pale, more-emotionless-than-ever Itachi behind.

~*~

_Well, that's certainly a reaction I didn't expect. _Sakura had hurriedly rushed to Deidara's side and quickly began to hit him hard on the back. He had pushed and poked her until she was willing to finally spill the reason why her and 'weasel' were currently going through turmoil. When she had reluctantly told him that Itachi had his suspicions that she was 'fraternising with the enemy' – namely him – instead of a bout of insults towards the Uchiha or a string of laughter, the blonde had blushed, laughed nervously and promptly went to guzzling down his sake, which of course had made him cough and splutter with the strength of it.

"Never thought I'd see a blush coming from you, idiot." She spoke more gentle than patronisingly after his coughing fit had subsided.

Deidara turned to stare at the girl who was pocking fun of him, her luscious strands of pink falling in front of her face and the smile she held causing another wave of heat to course through his body. He attempted to let out a light smile in return, but he couldn't manage it. He could only stare into her beautiful, vermillion eyes and hope the delicious smile stayed on her face.

She seemed to realise his intense and calculating stare and was unable to decipher what exactly was running through his head. The smile fell from her face as she attempted to analyse his expression.

_Geez, everyone's acting so strange today, _she thought to herself, noting that the blush was deepening on Deidara's cheeks. She had the sudden urge to reach forward and brush the sweet, pink tint away with her hands, but the moment she lifted her hand, a click and rush of wind hesitated her movements. The door had opened and Hidan stood, observing the both of them with a scrutinising expression. Sakura reached up to scratch the back of her head, swiftly moving away from Deidara and replacing herself across from him, ignoring the blush that was forming on her cheeks that mirrored the face opposite her.

"Am I interrupting something?" Hidan's voice was mocking and amused, riling Sakura's anger that she had pushed down to remain dormant.

"Don't be stupid," she snapped, downing a cup of sake that she had poured for herself earlier. Hidan said nothing about her tone, just raised an eyebrow and moved aside to allow a figure to walk through. Sakura froze, knowing immediately whose presence was now joining them.

"Seems when I went to get my two favourite members for dinner, I found that one had decidedly wandered off to spend an evening with blondie." Hidan laughed loudly as he dodged an oncoming cup flung into his direction, thrown from a very flustered looking Deidara. Itachi observed the clear embarrassment present on Sakura and Deidara's face and frowned in disapproval, though not mentioning it. In fact, he kept eye contact on nothing but immobile objects the entire time he was in the room.

Hidan took a seat beside Sakura and Itachi took the one beside Hidan. Instantly, a seemingly big tension began to float around the room. Sakura suspected that it was only her that felt it, until Hidan decided to speak.

"Well now. This is awkward." Hidan remarked, tapping his fingers on the table. Deidara and Sakura were sending each other questioning looks, both noting that although they had not yet looked at him, Itachi seemed to be watching them.

"It's awkward because there's one particular person here whose presence is not welcome." Deidara hissed through gritted teeth, finally deciding that it wasn't fair that Itachi had pissed off Sakura, not him. He was the only one allowed to rile her up and make her angry, not some passive, arrogant little weasel.

"Hey man, if you wanted me to leave you could have just asked." Hidan joked, making to step away from the table. Sakura snorted with amusement, not able to catch the gesture in time. Hidan grinned at her, ruffling the soft pink locks atop her head.

"There we go, you're beginning to loosen up a little."

Sakura grunted in reply, although she was glad that Hidan was making such an effort to return the atmosphere back to its usual state. Sakura was determined to forget that Itachi was a fellow captive and decided that she would not forgive him until she had no choice. In fact, if Itachi ordered her to follow his orders and listen to him, then she would have no choice but to oblige. It seemed that even Itachi had his boundaries and he was not willing to use his rank in order to get his word across.

One by one, the other Akatsuki members began to arrive. Noting their expressions, she knew very well that their analytical skills had picked up the changes in atmosphere between not only her and Itachi, but her and Deidara too.

"Hm. Seems a little love triangle is formi-" Kisame had made to quip about the situation half way through the meal, but had received a bread roll shoved firmly in his mouth from Deidara.

"Keep your nose out, jaws." Deidara had his eyes closed and his eyebrow was twitching, as though trying very hard to restrain any other anger seeping outward.

"Deidara has found love?! That makes Tobi happy!" Tobi chirruped. Sakura could not help but let out a quiet laugh as Deidara then chased the orange-masked boy from the room, clutching a butter knife threateningly as he ran.

None of Sakura's actions escaped Itachi's notice. He noted with a hollow feeling, that for once in his life his theory may have been proven wrong. Sakura did not seem at all embarrassed at the loud proclamation that appeared to be being called out about her relationship with Deidara, as he knows she would if she would be in an intimate situation with the blonde. He frowned and chewed on his bread thoughtfully, keeping his eyes cast on Sakura throughout the entire meal. She was disobedient, fiery, loud, strong, short-tempered and skilled. A strange feeling re-emerged from his stomach when he compared those certain personality aspects with his own. In no way at all were they alike, whereas the blonde seemed to share the exact same traits as her.

He slammed his bread down onto the table with more force then necessary, telling himself that it was no business of his whether or not she was interested in merciless killers. It was not his responsibility if she was forced to kill the owner of her heart when the time came; he would not have to bear with the pain afterward.

"Quit moping dude, she's just pissed." Itachi flicked his eyes over to Hidan, who seemed to be talking to him in a serious tone. It surprised him that he had allowed his emotions to be read to easily, especially by one of the Akatsuki. Hidan snorted, distracting him from his thoughts.

"You haven't blinked once since you have been watching her – now either that's concern for a team mate or you're hooked." Hidan patted him on the shoulder and swung his legs out from under the table, leaving Itachi to observe the very inconvenient information he had been left with. Itachi brought his eyes from the table back to Sakura and noticed that she had been watching him. The moment their eyes met, she looked away hurriedly, smiling slightly at Sasori who had used a puppet arm to stop Kisame from stuffing his face with any more dango.

Itachi observed the surrounding members of Akatsuki and his mind switched to a different matter. It had not crossed his mind yet, that he and Sakura may never get the chance to escape back to Konoha. Unless he managed to slowly pick off each of these members one by one – which was substantially unlikely – then they were to be stranded and forced to do each of the missions that were requested. Kiko - the owner of the hostage-type jutsu they were currently under – was ordered to remain away from Itachi once she had been told to weaken the bracelet in order to allow the two captives to do missions with a fair amount of chakra. Although Itachi had been rather irritated that he was still being used as a puppet, he could not help but be impressed with Pains' scrutiny. To know that Itachi would consider killing Kiko with his Mangekyou Sharingan the moment she became within distance was an obvious hypothetical situation, yet one that would not usually be realised. He was sure that Pain did not know Itachi was restricted from using his Mangekyou Sharingan, ordered by a certain pink medic nin who was currently blatantly ignoring him.

When the door to the dining room opened, it drew everyone's attention and immediately all fell silent. Pain was standing in the light of the hallway, his mystical eyes searching the combatants of the table. They fell on Sakura and Itachi and if he noticed the obvious gap between them, he did not seem to make any acknowledgment. He nodded and the both of them rose from their seats, reluctantly following him out. As Sakura and Itachi were making it through the doorway, a red-faced Deidara almost bumped into them, obviously back from his chase with Tobi.

"Sakura?" He questioned, his face switching to a look of displease when he noticed Pain leading them away. Sakura sent an apologetic smile over her shoulder and waved her pale hand at him. He waved a hand back subconsciously, his mood dropping considerably when he realised that he would be, no doubt, spending the rest of the evening alone.

~*~

"I require your skills on another mission." Pain's lips twitched apologetically at the two of them. "I am sorry it is so soon after the last mission, but I'm afraid it cannot be avoided."

Sakura's stomach dropped. Another mission with Itachi? It had almost killed her to see the look of remorse he held at the table and she had to refrain from slapping herself when she found concerned stare being captured by him. _It was his fault. He jumped to the wrong conclusions and almost rigged me as a… a whore! _She thought incredulously to herself. It was no use. However bad she made his accusations sound, it didn't resurface the anger she had felt earlier that day. Surely she was not already beginning to crumble under her own guilt?

"I have decided to have you partnered with Hidan, as Deidara seems to have created some sort of rift between you two." Sakura looked up at the leader alarmingly, surprised that he had noticed such a thing and also embarrassed about the mention. Pain hid his speculating emotions well, however, and he continued to look at them as though he had not just mentioned it.

"At what point will you release us?" Sakura turned to Itachi automatically, surprised again that such a comment had been brought up. It was then she realised that Pain's reaction would need to be analysed and she turned to stare at the red-head. He was expressionless, if a little grave.

"When your services are no longer needed. I did not say this was a part-time fixture, I fully intend to keep you until we find someone better, or the unfortunate possibility of death arrives." Sakura swallowed at the hidden meaning behind Pain's voice. There was more chance of Itachi being kept then Sakura, but the realisation of when the time came for her to be released struck her. She had learned too much about the Akatsuki, knew too many of their hidden headquarters, not to mention the real reasoning behind the group. She knew that – were she to be released – this information would not want to be leaked out. So the only passage out of Akatsuki was rescue, or death. It hurt her to realise the latter was more likely.

"You mission is to assassinate a rich and wealthy man whose name is Kin Kioshi. He has proven to be a problem to us when it comes to financial issues. Many times we have been at risk of our clients being bought out by this man and our reputation is at risk. He seems to be poking his nose into unwanted places – namely the Akatsuki – and we need to ensure he does not succeed." Pain passed over a scroll with instructions and the location scribbled upon it. Sakura took it reluctantly, grimacing at the idea of assassinating yet another probable innocent man.

"Hidan knows that he is to be receiving a mission shortly; go and give that to him." He nodded at the scroll and Itachi grunted in reply. Sakura felt herself feeling very conscious of the fact that she and Itachi would have to find Hidan together.

"Leave." Pain ordered, allowing Konan to open the door and let the two shinobi through.

"Hey, blossom." Sakura turned to see Deidara leaning against a wall patiently. Relief seeped through her as she realised that she no longer had to withstand Itachi's company alone. Itachi said nothing when Deidara's eyes narrowed at him and meekly followed Konan back down the hallway.

"You didn't have to wait for me, I'm perfectly capable of handling Itachi on my own." Sakura attempted to get a spark of life out of the seemingly depressed Deidara and smiled when she received it.

"With that big airhead of yours, I knew that you would somehow get lost, even with weasel and Konan leading you." Deidara replied, forcing the careless attitude and false arrogance. Sakura smiled and nudged Deidara with her elbow, gaining a grin from him. She was surprised when she felt Deidara throw an arm over her shoulder in a friendly gesture, resting his cheek on her head as they walked.

"Be careful. Kin is closely guarded and I'm not there to haul your arse back here if you go all out again." Sakura noted the seriousness behind his jokey manner and felt herself beginning to sadden. There was no denying it now; she was beginning to forge bonds with certain Akatsuki members and knew that there was nothing she could do to stop it. When the friendship between her and Deidara started, she didn't know, but it was there. There was an element of a bond forming and she knew that when the time came, it would be harder then she wished to break it.

~*~

Itachi threw a glance over his shoulder before he retreated around the corner and didn't fail to notice the arm that was slung around Sakura's shoulder. His eyes narrowed and his stomach constricted. It was driving him mad; he would tell himself that his accusation had been wrong and there couldn't be anything going on between Sakura and Deidara, then a small action would force him to believe it again. He turned the corner, avoiding eye contact with Konan, who had been waiting expectantly for him to follow. He was struck with the thought that – while on the mission – he may just have to enforce his ranking as a way to speak to Sakura. While he told himself that her links with members were no concern to him, it couldn't push the thought out of his mind that any emotional drama Sakura went through was due to his own carelessness.

He entered his and Sakura's room, allowing Konan to close it behind him. He had never remembered a time when his skills and his rank had become so useless. A knock at the door alerted him from his thoughts and he realised that he hadn't moved from the front of the door since he had entered it. It opened and he turned, observing the visitor. Hidan grinned at him.

"I have come to release you from your quiet abode," he spoke, yawning before continuing. "We need to prepare for the mission and get ready to leave at 3am tomorrow morning." He moved aside to allow Itachi to move from the room, grinning after him.

"I assume that means that we will not be sleeping tonight, then." Itachi's lips twitched when Hidan laughed at his comment, slapping him on the shoulder.

"No chance, my friend. I hope we'll be accompanied by your lady friend sooner rather than later. I hear she is familiar with using crude methods for assassinations." Hidan half-joked, grimacing at something that had crossed his mind. Itachi was amused that the silver-haired man was slightly disgusted at the obvious fate Michio had fallen to. Hidan opened up the door to a small, confined room and gestured for Itachi to take a seat. He willingly obliged and took in the amount of papers that were strewn across the desk.

As the evening progressed, the wonder of whether or not Akatsuki were 'bad' crossed Itachi's mind. It could be they were being given these missions to cover-up the real reason behind Akatsuki, but it did not seem so. It was true they were being ordered to assassinate a man whom had done nothing but risk hurting Akatsuki reputation, but as Hidan had pointed out, the man had left their clients damaged and fatally injured in some cases after a very thorough torture session.

Itachi spun his aching neck and rubbed it with his hand, glancing up at the clock. He and Hidan had been rifling through papers related to past Akatsuki missions, the task they were supposed to be doing laying on the table, forgotten. He had observed scroll after scroll and found that each victim or group that had been murdered was done so on reasonable grounds.

He glanced up at the clock, grimacing at the time. It was only 11pm and there was still the dreaded task of preparing for the mission to attend to. It was then that the door slammed open and an out-of-breath Sakura stood in the entrance, glaring at the two of them.

"Nice of you to tell me where the hell you were! Do you have any idea how long me and Deidar-" Sakura cut off, glancing at Itachi. "How long I've been looking for you?!" She finished, her glare deepening. Hidan winked at her and began to put away the mission papers.

"A little hide-and-seek never hurt anybody, " he rose to his feet and stretched his aching muscles, extending his arms far above his head. Sakura narrowed her eyes at Hidan.

"I'm beginning to think I may dislike you as much as I disliked Deidara."

Itachi ignored the past tense in her sentence and rose to his feet, helping Hidan to dispose of the mission scrolls they had been searching through. Sakura watched silently, annoyed that she had not received any acknowledgement from Itachi yet. She shook herself. _I don't want acknowledgment. He's passive, emotionless and annoying._

"Well," Hidan began, cracking his fingers and seating himself on a chair, "it's time to begin the preparations."

Sakura still remained standing at the door as Itachi and Hidan instantly became consumed in the preparations and strategy of the assassinations. It was eerie to see the ANBU Captain working so well with the very criminals they were forced to pursue in missions from the Hokage. She almost laughed aloud when she realised that Itachi must have the very same idea in mind, except with her friendship to Deidara.

"Catching a cold here, kunoichi. Shut the fucking door already." Instead of retaliating to Hidan's rude comment, she hurriedly stepped in and closed the door. Sighing, she joined the two at the table, making sure to stay an equal distance away from both of the absorbed, working males.

~*~

"You're a real fucking pain in the ass. Why can't you be more like Itachi, hm?" Sakura gritted her teeth and ignored Hidan, who had been trying so much to get a reaction out of her since leaving the headquarters.

"If you gave me a feasible reason why I'm such a pain in the ass, then I could try and NOT be a pain in the ass." She spoke through gritted teeth, casting her eyes venomously toward Hidan. He closed his eyes and placed two hands behind his head.

"Jashin objects to me revealing information that I do not want to be revealed, especially to women." Hidan commented, sticking his nose in the air. Sakura moved toward him, her fist cracking threateningly. Itachi stopped himself from halting her actions and allowed her to continue. It surprised Sakura that Itachi had not yet stopped her and automatically, she found that she had stopped herself. It wasn't the same when she didn't receive a stern objection from the Uchiha. She swallowed, staring at the ground and ignoring the sinking feeling her stomach had suddenly developed. Maybe Itachi was mad with her? She mentally shook herself. Of course he would be mad at her! She had screamed at him for being nosy!

"Ah, 'bout fucking time. Never took this long to get to Hotai town before." Hidan complained, speeding up to walk into the town gates. He turned his head to look over his shoulder.

"Guess it's cos you're slowin' us down, Barbie." Hidan laughed as Sakura's face contorted with anger, before relaxing into a calm stare.

"Go complain to Jashin, maybe he can send down a lightning bolt and punish me." Sakura quipped back, no amusement behind her tone as she usually occupied in her bouts with Deidara or Kisame. She had taken a dislike to Hidan since she realised that Itachi was getting friendly with him. He was hypocritical; saying that she was not allowed to fraternise with the enemy and then going and doing it himself. Hidan hissed and half-turned to make his way towards her, but Itachi rested a hand on the angry mans shoulder.

"It would be a waste of valuable energy if you were to fight her now." Itachi spoke to Hidan, yet kept his eyes on Sakura. She took his comment the wrong way and narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha.

"I'm a waste of energy? Well, that was certainly directed a lot more forward than the past accusation." She spat, unable to hide the hurt that ripped through her voice. Itachi remained silent and expressionless, but his eyes were gleaming in what could have been shame. Hidan looked from one to the other with an interested expression on his face, before his stomach growling interrupted the heavy tension between the two.

"We need to get some food, shelter and then carry on tomorrow. Quit being so fucking miserable and get your fat ass into the town already." Hidan pointed at the entrance and glared pointedly at Sakura, daring her to not obey him. Her eyes flashed defiantly, before she headed forwards and cursed under her breath. It looked like things between her and Itachi were not going to be patching up any time soon and for some reason, being a captive just didn't seem as exciting as it used to be.

**To Be Continued...**

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**A/N: I have decided that I will no longer be pressuring you people for reviews. It's bad, rude and horrible of me! D:**

**I will however, say THANK YOU for the amount of reviews for the last chapter. I know this chapter is boring, but I'm slowly working my way towards a good plot line. Again, I ask that you try and forget any loopholes that you may spot. I'm not too great at covering everything and I know there is probably multiple times that Itachi and Sakura could have attempted escape. **

**I know that I end almost every chapter with someone unconcious or sleeping, but I really can't think of a better way to close up a chapter. This is one of the few were Sakura or Itachi are still awake at the end of it. **

**I can't write Hidan for shit. I only read the manga with him in and I honestly think he's a little nicer than he should be. Well, he's nice to Itachi. :3**

**I would appreciate reviews and your opinion on Sakura's yelling at Itachi and, of course, I would love any criticism or advice. Mention any loopholes and I will try and answer my way around them in the next chapter.**

**Thanks! ^_^  
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	9. Confusion

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**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

_-_

"Remind me again why you booked one room for three people?" Sakura growled at Hidan, who was grinning stupidly at the door of their lodge room. He tapped the open door, gesturing for her and Itachi to go through.

"Well, there were two rooms left. If I was to book two rooms, no doubt you would want a room to yourself. That would mean that a perfectly good room would be wasted on pathetic little you instead of on someone who actually deserved it." Hidan followed them through the white door and scanned the room, nodding in appreciation at the bland yet clean appearance. Sakura gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, her knuckles itching to punch the pretty face of his through the walls. But she could feel Itachi's eyes on her back and in doing so she was certain that Itachi would end up scolding her. Or worse, ignore her completely.

Hidan clapped his hands, turning to look at the both of the shinobi. "Alright! Onto sleeping arrangements!"

He turned back, staring at the double bed and tiny, black sofa. Sakura shook her head at the situation, wondering whether there were actually any rooms that had two separate beds in any lodge at all anymore. Hidan narrowed his eyes mischievously at both her and Itachi, then fake yawned before throwing himself on the sofa.

"This looks luxurious. Seems like you two will be taking the bed," he grinned and winked at Sakura the moment Itachi drew his gaze away from him to look at the bed. Sakura was rigid.

"Bastard," she muttered to herself, her stomach contorting at the thought of sleeping in bed with the one person whom was currently not exactly on her friends list. Then she realised with humour that Itachi was not exactly a close companion shortly after the kidnapping either and she seemed to have no issue with sleeping with him then. She froze, realising that her wording had not exactly been chosen correctly in the last sentence and her face grew hot as images began to pop into her head.

"Awww, she's blushing! I think she's embarrassed." Hidan quipped, laughing loudly as Sakura's face turned to a look of horror. She grabbed the complimentary nightshirt that the lodge had provided after discovering she had no clothes to travel in and then headed to the bathroom, slamming the door firmly. Itachi was studying Hidan and the grey-haired Akatsuki didn't fail to notice either.

"You are trying to get Sakura to befriend me again." Itachi stated solidly, seating himself on the edge of the bed. Hidan grinned and shrugged, resting his head on the arm of the sofa.

"Her blush makes me think that she may want to do a little more than befriend you," Hidan waggled his eyebrows at the Captain and hid his laugh as Itachi's eyes widened. The Uchiha coughed and looked down, a familiar pink tinge painting across his cheeks.

"Don't be absurd," Itachi muttered, taking off his custom made trousers as heat began to make his forehead prickle with sweat. Hidan chuckled, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling and slinging his legs over the other arm of the sofa.

"I'm not only in Akatsuki because I love killing, violence and Jashin ordered me to. I have better perceptive skills then the majority of the other members. Well, the only one with perceptive skills who still has emotions." He tilted his head back into Itachi's direction, his smile growing cunningly. "And – using my perceptive skills – I would say that the blossom sitting in that bathroom now, trying to get rid of that blush, is head over heels in love with you."

An eerie silence fell over the room and Hidan smirked in victory, moving his head back to stare at the ceiling before closing his eyes. No doubt Itachi's mind was whirring with possibilities and the ridicule of the suggestion he had just made, but that was what he wanted.

And he was right. Itachi's frightened eyes that were hidden from Hidan were staring hard at the floor, his own perceptive mind thinking long and hard about the stupid idea. Sakura... in love with him? It was ridiculous. He knew nothing about Sakura and she in return knew nothing about him. She was best friends with his younger brother; there was not a chance in the world that she would ever fall in love with him. Was there? He rested his forehead on the bottom of his palm, closing his eyes to help him think. They had only ever made contact that evening when Sakura awoke from the terrible nightmare and Itachi had thought it to be inconvenient and awkward. But after that, when he had hugged her again out of a strange whim to comfort her. What was that?

The door to the bathroom opened before he could continue with his thoughts and he looked up, his current state gone as he scanned Sakura. The complimentary nightgown was plain, white and probably made out of cheap, tacky material. But on her, it looked like an evening dress that brushed her mid-thigh, the fabric stretching across her torso to emphasize the chest that she frequently hid underneath her custom-made clothing. Itachi blinked, thinking that his imagination was driving him insane. Sakura couldn't be standing in the door of a bathroom, dressed like an angel with a bright white shining behind her could she?

After blinking, it was clear he was proven wrong. She stepped forward, each step like a graceful glide. Itachi forced himself to turn away.

Since when had she become so beautiful? Or when had he ever let himself openly examine her like that? He was sure she realised.

But he was wrong. Sakura hadn't realised him staring because she was too focused on the fact that the person whom she hated with every inch of her body was sitting on the bed, wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. She couldn't tear her eyes off of the muscled legs and the torso that appeared when he moved his arms backwards to lean, his eyes firmly on the wall to her right. She mentally slapped herself.

_What the hell do you think you're doing? You're not attracted to... Itachi! No way. You barely even know him._

_And who cares? He's a hot piece of ass who makes you drool._

Sakura laughed inwardly at the comment the other side of her made, yet also grimaced at the same moment. She knew that her face was heating up again and not just because she had emerged from the steamy bathroom. To think that she would have to rest in the bed when Itachi only had a slip of material separating her from his...

"Cock, I forgot my teddy bear." Hidan quipped, smirking as neither Sakura not Itachi noted his comment. Itachi had taken a sudden interest in the wall and Sakura needed a bucket for the drool, not to mention the fact her face was as red as a, well, cherry.

Sakura shook herself and frowned. Just minutes ago she had hated Itachi and would never even think of such things. Why was it now that she suddenly started noticing how Itachi's lips were so thin and kissable or how his eyes were always intense – as though he could always see more then on the surface? She thought back to moments when she would have noticed such things. There was when she was hugging him for comfort. She couldn't remember ever thinking of how his muscles felt so comfortable under her grip or how his warm body seemed to fit perfectly with her own. Or there was the fact she had to share a bed with him at HQ. She never noted how each time his leg brushed against hers, or when she woke up with his peaceful face inches away from her own, it sent a pleasurable chill down her spine.

Sakura covered her open mouth with her hand in shock. She _had_ thought of Itachi that way – she had just pushed the thoughts away to the back of her mind and told them not to surface. What was she thinking? Itachi was Sasuke's older brother, he was the arrogant bastard who accused her of fraternising; why did she revel in every touch or smirk he sent her way?

"It'd be nice to get some fucking sleep tonight. We have a big day tomorrow and I'd preferably not die by the hands of a creepy Akatsuki fan." Hidan sighed and turned over on the sofa, covering himself using his Akatsuki cloak as a blanket. Itachi stopped focusing on the wall and brought his attention back to the bed. He stood up from it, fully aware that Sakura was watching as he strolled around the side and folded back the heavy blanket. After he had settled down, Sakura slowly went to join him.

Itachi stiffened as the warm form slid next to him, her smooth, creamy leg accidentally brushing against his own. He frowned as he felt the warmth from Sakura's body begin to radiate onto his own, causing him to become almost agitatedly drowsy. He had never had any issues with sleeping beside Sakura before – why did it have to happen now of all times for his body to decide that he longed for interaction?

Little did Itachi know, Sakura was just as disconcerted. She was lying so she was facing the back of Itachi's head and was fully aware that he laid not even an arm's length away from her. She only had to bend her knee to come into contact with his _HOT, SEXY LEGS. _Sakura had the urge to giggle, despite herself. Inner Sakura was certainly a pain in situations like this, yet it definitely helped to loosen things up a little. It wasn't until Itachi moved further backwards- so his body was inches away from her own – did she begin to panic and become almost breathless.

It had been 1am when Hidan, Sakura and Itachi had arrived at the lodge and 2 hours later, both Sakura and Itachi were still lying awake, thinking the indescribable sexual tension between them was only one-sided. Sakura blinked her tired eyes and urged herself to sleep, thinking that Itachi must have long past fell sound asleep. She had turned to her back to Itachi, hoping that it may have helped her at least get a snooze. It was then she began to get uncomfortable and started to turn over.

Itachi was having an equal amount of trouble sleeping and had remained facing the wall with the knowledge that if he were not to look at Sakura, then the indescribable feelings would fade away. But lying on the same side for two hours had been both uncomfortable and unbearable, so he was faced with no choice but to turn over.

Unknown that each was doing the same action, they turned. And froze. Although dark, Sakura could still see Itachi's very open eyes and was very aware that the thin, kissable lips she had been examining mere hours ago were so very very close to her own. As his warm breath caressed her lips neither spoke, ripples of butterflies coursing through every vein in Sakura's body. Itachi gazed at her with that intense stare and she thought she imagined it when he moved closer.

"Sorry," she murmured, making to turn over. But Itachi grasped her arm and forced her to stay facing him, then brought his hand up to her face. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but the words floated out into nothing but hitched breaths. He was centimetres away from her lips and she was dizzy with some emotion she couldn't put into words.

"Sakura," Itachi whispered in a husky, tired tone. That cracked Sakura's resolve and she relaxed into his hand that cupped her cheek, shivering as his foot barely caressed her white leg. He leant forwards, brushing only his top lip with hers and her mouth opened on its own accord, her eyes fluttered close and she loosened her head so Itachi could move it on his own free will. He tilted it so his mouth could be placed sideways on hers and their lips were seconds away from contact before;

"RISE AND SHINE. TIME TO GO KICK SOME AKATSUKI FAN ASS." Hidan had opened the curtains to the room merrily and the light blinded both Itachi and Sakura for a few minutes. Itachi had long since drew back from Sakura and she too had made as much space as possible between them. Itachi immediately swung his legs out of bed to enter the bathroom, leaving Sakura and Hidan alone in the room together.

Sakura was both frustrated yet grateful for Hidan's interruption. She sat up from the bed and rested her back against the backboard, rubbing her forehead. She had nearly kissed Itachi. Or moreover, Itachi had nearly kissed _her._

"Made up yet?" Hidan asked, smirking humorously to himself as he analysed Sakura's confused expression. He was certain that his timing was dot on and she was confirming it. Her eyes flickered to his.

"Remind me why we have to be up so early JUST to assassinate a measly little rich kid." She asked, not moving from her posture. Hidan shrugged one shoulder, scratching the back of his head in thought.

"Weeelll... He could be moving location at any time. Best we find him so we don't have to locate him again." Hidan turned his back on her and stretched before clumping down onto the sofa again and closing his eyes. Sakura sighed and placed both hands behind her head and looked up at the white ceiling, her mind whirring with thoughts and confusion. She didn't notice Hidan's slow breaths indicating he had fallen asleep again and waited in silence for Itachi to re-emerge from the bathroom so she could go and wash away her confusion. When the bathroom door opened, she realised that she had closed her eyes at some point to ease the tension in her mind. However, once she had opened them she considered just hiding under the quilts and never resurfacing.

Itachi was wearing just his underwear. There was no top to hide the small droplets of water that trickled down his smooth chest. She noticed that – unlike most ANBU – he was not made of just muscle. There was no bulky, ugly muscles that contorted his chest or huge clumps of hair either. Her eyes travelled down and widened when she saw that a small patch of hair led down from the bottom of his chest through to his grey boxers. When she raised her eyes up to observe his face, she noticed with embarrassment that he had been watching her examine every inch of him with a smirk on his face. It when then she realised that he was teasing her – mocking her even. Her embarrassment became anger and she frowned, snapping her head away from him to glare at the wall.

She stood up quickly, storming across the room to enter the bathroom. She would escape from Itachi until he had the decency to at least cover himself up. She walked past him without giving him so much as a glance, but a warm hand encased her wrist and pulled her backwards. She was then slung against the wall and was locked in by Itachi's arms either side of her head.

"Itachi let me go." She ordered, her voice quavering when her green orbs snapped up to meet grey. The Uchiha smirked and ducked his head over her shoulder so his breath could caress her ear.

"Do you really want me to, Sakura?" He whispered, allowing his top lip to brush along her earlobe. Sakura felt herself go weak under him, silently cursing when her hands subconsciously grazed Itachi's warm, soft stomach. When had she and Itachi been so bold with each other? Itachi's mouth moved down to the side of her neck and he lightly skimmed the top of her skin with his delicious mouth. She bit back her gasp and screwed her eyes shut, locking away all emotion and feeling of pleasure she felt before suddenly pulling away and ducking under Itachi's arm to the bathroom. Once on the other side, she rested her back against the door, her breath still heavy and erratic.

_CHAAA. THAT WAS INCREDIBLE. _Her inner self seemed to celebrate, able to freely express what she thought as Sakura had locked her emotions and feelings away along with the other side of her mind.

_He was teasing you, trying to dominate you. You want him. He wants you. He accused you of fraternising with the enemy. _Sakura shook her head, refusing to believe that that was the case. You can't just wake up one morning and suddenly decide that you're in love. Can you?

~*~

"You could have told us he was only a days walk away from the lodge we were staying. Wouldn't you consider that vital information?" Sakura growled at Hidan, who was walking in front of her with an arrogant swagger. He turned his head over his shoulder.

"I thought I already told you; Jashin objects to me revealing information that I do not want to be revealed-"

"-especially to women, yeah yeah, I know." Sakura narrowed her eyes at Hidan's back and threw a wary glance at Itachi, who was walking beside her. He had remained silent since the confrontation this morning and was acting as though nothing had happened at all.

"I need to rest, my ankles are killing me," she moaned, making Hidan halt. He rolled his eyes, a look of disgust crossing across his face.

"You wanted a reason why you were such a fucking pain in the ass – well, there's a reason." He sneered. Sakura ignored his jibe and bent down slowly, rubbing her hand down her smooth white leg before reaching her ankle and massaging it. Itachi watched her, swallowing as her shorts rode up her thigh. Why did he realise such small things when before he would never have even glanced at her curvy figure? Hidan failed to notice and sighed, shooing her to the edge of the road.

"Fine, we'll rest until your fucking ankles feel better." Hidan muttered, walking off of the road. Sakura smiled in victory and removed her hands from her ankles, stretching her arms above her head now. Her body was aching from lying on one side for the whole night and she sighed after she dropped her arms back to her side. Itachi's brow creased as he watched her smooth, flat stomach appear when her arms were above her head and he found that his eyes couldn't remove themselves from her body. He forced himself to look away and walked off of the road, cursing himself mentally.

Hidan had headed off a little distance away to do a ritual, leaving Itachi and Sakura pretty much alone at the side of the road. She had seated herself next to Itachi, but far enough away so that it wasn't suspicious. She didn't know what to make of him. One minute he's attempting to seduce her and the next he's back to his usual quiet self. Maybe this morning was a fluke – they were both extremely tired and exhausted and both of them had not come into contact with close friends for a while. Their bodies were probably just reacting normally. Weariness overcame her all of a sudden and she had the urge to sleep. It was pleasantly warm and she was resting in a comfortable spot beneath the tree. It was definitely more comfortable then when she had been sharing the bed with Itachi.

She didn't realise when she closed her eyes, or when she fell asleep. She did remember being picked up by a pair of strong arms and she had wrapped her own arms around the person's warm neck, still sleeping soundly. When she awoke again, the sun was in the middle of the sky, indicating it was afternoon.

"Good afternoon, Sakura."

She froze, suddenly realising just exactly whose arms she was sitting in. She moved backwards from Itachi's shoulder and narrowed her azure eyes at him.

"You could have woken me up. How old do you think I am?" She still kept her arms behind his neck and allowed him to continue to carry her. His eyes were bright with amusement and he smirked at her, scanning her face with his ash orbs.

"Waking up someone whose short-tempered manner rivals that of Naruto is not usually a good idea. Tell me, how would you have reacted if I had awoken you?" He arched a brow at her and Sakura felt her face heat up. Did he have to pull that face when they were in such close proximity? She looked away, forcefully frowning.

"I guess I would have got pissed, yelled and then stormed off." She smiled to herself as she realised that Itachi knew full well how she would have reacted. He stopped walking and released her, setting her back onto her feet. She pouted at him.

"You're saying I have to walk now? Great." She crossed her arms and frowned at him. It was embarrassing that he had even thought to carry her in the first place, but she was letting a good opportunity go to waste. She didn't mind not having to walk and instead spending the duration of the journey in Itachi's arms. Itachi ignored her comment and gestured for her to continue walking.

"You two are seriously fucking slowing me down!" Hidan yelled at them angrily, tapping his foot impatiently. Sakura poked her tongue out at him, purposely slowing her footsteps as though walking in slow motion. Itachi rested a hand on her back, pushing her forwards.

"I wouldn't advise prodding his temper any further." He said, not noticing the fact his action had made Sakura blush. His warm hand seeped through the material on her back and seemed to be leaving a hefty scorch mark along her entire body. She shook herself before hurrying forward away from him. _It's just my body reacting, it's just my body reacting, it's just my body reacting-_

~*~

"Only another 3 hours to go!" Hidan jeered, throwing his arms in the air. Sakura groaned. She had been walking for over 5 hours and was already bored with the scenery around them. Trees, road, trees, road, trees, road. It seemed that everywhere in the shinobi world was just an ongoing loop.

Itachi had kept at least a metres distance away for the entire walk and for once, Sakura was thankful. It gave her time to think and consider what her feelings were toward the passive Uchiha. She should hate him – they had not officially apologised to each other yet. So why was it that she had returned to such a playful banter with him? She felt comfortable in his presence and felt safe and secure. She shook herself.

She felt safe and secure around Naruto and was comfortable in his presence, so there was no reason why she couldn't be around Itachi too. Sakura froze suddenly, frowning deeply. There it was again – that sense that she was being followed. She had encountered it about 4 times over the last 5 hours and had thought nothing of it. But it was certainly there again. As though there were eyes planted on her and whenever she turned around, the feeling disappeared. Itachi seemed to have not noticed and neither had Hidan. They were both more perceptive than her, so she was certain it must have been her imagination.

A small village expanded in the distance and Sakura sighed in relief. She would finally be able to rest for a brief moment before they continued because no doubt Hidan would be hungry. The petite village was surprisingly filled with travellers and people, all buying their goods from the market. The smell of ramen and other foods was present and a loud chatter echoed around her.

"We can spread out and meet back here in 10. Your bracelets should allow the distance." Hidan nodded at both her and Itachi and they nodded in reply. Sakura was relieved that at last she would be able to have some time to herself.

As Sakura wandered off in her own direction, she wondered what Itachi would do in the middle of a bustling village filled with people. She had brought her wallet with her and it contained money that Pain had given to her for completing the previous mission. She had refused to take it, until he had almost forcefully thrown it at her as a thank you. She snorted as she walked past a busy stall, surrounded by children. Her situation could not get any stranger; she was being paid for being a captive.

As Sakura wandered past the market, carefully observing her bracelet to ensure that it did not turn purple, she realised that the further she travelled, the dirtier and lank the village became. There were children and young adults on the streets in grimy brown rags and had obvious illnesses which she could have healed in a heartbeat. A young boy who looked no more than 6 was curled up in a corner, shivering uncontrollably and seemed to have an illness worse than the others around him. Sakura knelt down in front of him, placing both her hands on the boys shoulders. For a moment, he looked frightened but she sent him a reassuring smile.

"I can help you. Just sit still." She sent chakra through her arms, feeling out the virus that abided in the boy's body and pushing it out as much as she could. She felt the shivering boy calm and his sniffles and shaking halted abruptly.

"Better?" She smiled warmly at him and the boy's eyes filled with grateful tears.

"Th-thank you miss," the boy choked on his tears and wiped a trembling wrist across his eyes, clearing his vision and grimacing as speckles of dirt swept across his face. Sakura was filled with sympathy for the infant and rummaged in her pocket for the soft, velvet pouch that her gold coins were resting in. She pulled out two and lifted up the boys palm, opening it slowly and then placing the cool metal into it. The boys' eyes glazed over at what to Sakura was no more then a few coins, but to him was a wealth that he had only wished he could hold.

"Go and clean yourself up. Get a decent meal and find shelter for the night. You'll be a lot better in the morning." Sakura smiled sweetly and ruffled the boys' hair. He was crying again, with an indescribable joy. Sakura stood to leave, wanting nothing more than to leave before she used up all her chakra in order to heal all of the innocent children around her. A slight tug on her shorts caused her to halt and she turned back around to face the youngster.

"Come with me, miss. I won't make it to the market on my own - I'll be caught and beaten for sure." The expression on the boys face resembled a lost puppy in the rain and Sakura felt herself losing to the other side of her mind, which protested about helping the boy further in case he became attached. She sighed, holding out her hand so the small, dirty palm could curl around it. The boy seemed to have only recently been sent out into the horrible end of this village as his eyes still looked alive and was more clean then the others, but his illness would have killed him by nightfall were it not for her.

She frowned when she reached a turning she couldn't remember, the grime-ridden floors were gone and the streets were empty. Not even the shack houses lining the road indicated any source of noise.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked suspiciously to the boy, a crude dread spreading through every inch of her body. That feeling had returned – she was being watched. The boy shook his head, his thumb pressed between his lips and his eyes shining in confusion.

"I've never seen this place before," the boy's brow creased and he scanned the surrounding, his small fingers digging into the back of Sakura's twitching palm. She stood as still as she could, moving only her eyes to observe the now-deserted streets. She increased her senses; smell, touch, taste and sight. Slowly, she rotated to look behind her at the street they had just exited – she was certain it was noisy with coughs and crying but now, it had fallen silent. Her eyes widened. It was just as she predicted – it was nothing more than a passage of white. She turned back around to face the empty street that was clearly genjutsu, but a sudden stab of pain accelerated up her forearm. She acknowledged the pain before she could acknowledge the wind and she gasped, releasing her hold on the boy to clutch her now-wounded arm.

"Get down!" She hissed loudly, pushing the boy down with her bloody hand. She raised her hand back up to the wound, slowly curling her fingers around the edge of the kunai that had pierced her arm before jerking it out and biting back a curse. She threw the sharp metal to the floor, replacing her hand to the wound to set pressure on it. The last time her senses had been so uncoordinated had been when she was surrounded by those infernal paralysation bombs the Akatsuki had gotten hold of. But no one else had their hands on such things; Deidara had explained that!

She dodged as another kunai came at her from a completely different direction, yelping as it scraped across her left cheek. The infant was looking up at her, fear and concern in his bright, brown eyes.

"Sister?" He asked. Sakura had no time to respond to the sweet gesture the young boy had just whispered and hurriedly clamped her hands together, wincing at the pain it sent coursing through the kunai injury.

"Release," she murmured. The illusion around her wobbled and dissipated in front of her eyes and she was brought back to the noisy, bustling streets. In front of her stretched a road laden with homeless people which was a high difference from the one she had recently encountered while under the genjutsu. She gritted her teeth, flinching when she took a step. The culprit of the genjutsu was nearby and it was clear that she was the one who was targeted. Perhaps if she inflated her chakra signal, she could- cursing, she realised that the bracelet prevented her from doing so.

"Sister, are you going to be okay? Why don't you use your magic to heal yourself?" The little boy clasped her t-shirt and looked up at her with frightened eyes. "You don't have to come to the market with me anymore, I'll be just fine on my own."

Sakura would have yelled at the boy that her chakra had been absorbed by something or else she would have, but right now she was feeling too weak to even think straight. She bent down to the boys' level, grasping both of his shoulders in her trembling hands. Her face was frightened, echoing the boys' expression.

"I need you to go and find a man with clothes like mine and another man with long gray hair. Tell them-" Her voice cut off and her worried eyes caught sight of her chakra bracelet. It was wavering, yet was still the same blue it had always been. Had she gone out of range? It was then that it shattered, dissolving into fractions of dust into the air. Immediately, she stared the boy in the eyes again. "Tell them Emergency Formula 3, can you remember that?" The boy nodded, his eyes wide with confusion and fright.

"Go!" Sakura pushed him toward the marketplace, rising to her feet. She had gotten the boy to safety and knew that it would only be a matter of time before Itachi and Hidan came to her current location. She stumbled over to a bare wall, ignoring a perverse glance from an old man sitting on the floor by her shivering feet and dropping her head as her vision wavered. She had no chakra to chase away her dizziness and was certain that the kunai that had embedded into her arm was covered in a poison that was definitely not normal.

"How nice to see you, Sakura. It's been such a long time." Shivers of cold, deadly dread travelled up her spine and ran through every vein in her body. She had trained herself to remember that voice – that voice filled with love for killing and bloodshed. Slowly, she rotated, placing her hands flat against the wall and keeping her eyes on the floor until she used all the courage she could muster to finally meet the owner of the voice in the eyes. The owner of her revenge. The reason she couldn't sleep at night. The cold-hearted snake who killed her parents.

_Orochimaru._

**To Be Continued...**

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**A/N: I guess I'm sorry for uploading slowly. I was actually diagnosed with mild swine flu on Sunday and I've been trying my best to get over it so I could upload this to all you lovely people. I kinda got caught up in Full Metal Alchemist too. Finished watching it in 2 days so there's no danger that I'll get caught up in it again!**

**And for all you people reading the Shippuden manga, WOW it's heating up. I'm so impatient when it comes to waiting for the next chapter. :l**

**I have no idea whether or not I rushed this. I mean, as Sakura said 'you can't just wake up one morning and realise you're in love' ... or something like that. Please tell me what you think and I may be willing to fiddle around with the situation a little. I don't know how long it'll be until I upload again, but I got my own laptop about 2 weeks back meaning probably soonish.**

**Please review, point out any loopholes I'm pretty sure I've missed and criticise points that are important. Thanks! (: **


	10. Stolen

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**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

The icy stare on Orochimaru's face sent another frigid chill down Sakura's spine. She couldn't describe what she was feeling – what she was thinking. Thousands of questions ran through her fuddled mind; where was Itachi? What did Orochimaru want? Did she want to avenge her parents? Should she run or engage in battle? Surely Hidan or Itachi would have sensed her bracelet shatter? What will Orochimaru do to her? Her dry mouth fell open into a unspoken trance and Orochimaru's sly smile spread out in front of her. He said nothing and stood still, as though waiting. Waiting for what? Did he want her to make the first move? She raised her hands to her head slowly, her face contorting into an expression of sheer panic and her breathing becoming more and more hitched. The unheard agonising screams of her parents echoed through her mind along with memories best forgotten. It was hard to tell the difference between reality and the thoughts in front of her eyelids. Slowly, her vision began to fade; both her memories and the hard, stony floor that she was staring down upon. Her knees hit the floor first, but the pain didn't reach her - she was already unconscious. With one final frightened groan, she collapsed onto the chilly path, the sneering laugh of Orochimaru ringing through her ears.

~*~

The familiar grey mop of Hidan caught Itachi's eye and he slowly wandered over to the meeting place, noticing with a frown that Sakura had not yet arrived. Seeing the displeased expression on Hidan's face, he knew that it was obviously noted by him too.

"Where is that blasted girl?" Hidan muttered under his breath as Itachi drew close. Observing the blue chakra bracelet, Itachi saw that the blue had not even faded to the slightest lilac. She must be nearby. Hidan tapped his foot impatiently, growling under his breath.

"Might I suggest we search for her?" Itachi said, watching the impatient Akatsuki member grow evermore frustrated. The grey-haired man shook his head.

"She'll just turn the corner the moment we go looking. That's how much of a pain in th-" Hidan's eyes flickered to Itachi's bracelet for no more then a second – it could have been a passing glance. But the moment he did, Itachi felt it quiver and tremble. Surely Sakura had not travelled too far for the jutsu to activate? Examining it closely, he realised that the colour was in fact still the same petrifying blue that it had always been. His eyes widened in shock and he moved his arm away the moment the bracelet dissipated. Into nothing.

"What the fuck is going on?" Hidan cursed under his breath. Itachi hadn't acknowledged his comment. Sakura's chakra was fading into the distance and he came to the most horrible conclusion. The bracelet could only be broken if one of the captives were to die. He shook the thought away and ran toward the chakra signature. He noticed that Hidan seemed to be following behind him.

"It's Sakura, isn't it? What did she do?" Itachi halted his running as a young boy ran in front of his path.

"HELP ME, SISTER IS HURT. SHE WAS ATTACKED BY GHOSTS AND SHE NEEDS A 'GREY-HAIR' MAN." Hidan halted in his footsteps, staring at the young boy in speculation. Itachi lunged for the boy, turning him around by the shoulders and staring deep into his petrified eyes.

"Tell me, what colour hair does your sister have?" Itachi hissed at the boy. For a moment, the boy could only stare and Itachi noticed him quickly observe the clothes Itachi was wearing. The infants eyes widened.

"YOU. She needs you. Please help my sister." The boy clasped Itachi's hand and dragged him along. Itachi obliged, ignoring any amusement that seemed to be coming from Hidan at the thought that such a strong ninja like himself was being tugged along by a boy.

"She healed me and then we were going to go the market but then she saw a white road and she started getting hurt. I didn't know what to do." The boy wiped away some tears that escaped from his eyes furiously with the back of his hand, setting his forehead into a determined frown. Itachi noticed that they were slowly being dragged toward Sakura's plummeting chakra and he was having difficulty pinpointing the direct location.

"I'm going to contact Headquarters and ask them what's going on." Hidan stopped walking and headed down an alleyway, tapping the ring on his index finger. Itachi had no time to be amused at the obvious trust Hidan had in him not to run away and continued to be dragged by the child.

"Here! She was right here!" The boy turned around the corner and immediately his face dropped. There was no pink-haired ninja and no limp body to be found. Yet the chakra residue in the air indicated that a genjutsu had only recently been triggered. Itachi had activated his Sharingan long before they had turned the corner and he could see the speckles floating around. The small, delicate blood drops on the ground were definitely Sakura's.

An unmistakable feeling of dread filled every bone in his body. She had been taken by someone – someone who could hide their chakra as well as their presence. How was that possible? Itachi released the boys hand, ignoring the incoherent whimpers that the boy was now exerting and then he headed over to examine the alleyway. Anything - anything that could give him the slightest clue as to where Sakura had been taken would be enough for him to even drop as low as to kill Hidan if he tried to get in the way of his pursuit.

Then he spotted it. On a wall next to an old man who was staring at him in awe, was a code. And it was written in Sakura's blood.

~*~

"She's dead. I can't believe she's fucking dead." Itachi lifted his head up to stare at Hidan, terrified at what he was saying. Hidan noticed his torn expression and quickly changed his words.

"Kiko. Kiko is dead. I guess when the bracelets are forcefully broken, it absorbs all of her chakra. Every ounce of energy in her body - gone." Hidan leant against the wall and ran a hand through his hair. "Fuck."

Itachi turned back to the code he had been examining and tried his hardest to ignore the fact it was written in blood. It was a well-known shinobi tactic – to write a code in blood – and she had done it no doubt without hesitation. He was still unclear what the code meant though. A squiggly line and an 'O' underneath it. What could that mean?

"What? What the fuck is that?" Hidan leant forwards over Itachi's shoulder and Itachi moved his head to the side slightly so he could see him.

"It was Sakura. She left a message." He turned back to the code and ran his fingers around it, being careful not to smudge the blood. He was tearing apart inside and he had no idea why. Sure, every leader is hurt when he/she loses a member of their team while in battle. But Sakura – his brothers best friend and dare he say, maybe even his own friend – being taken from right under his nose and nothing but a simple doodle to go on. It was worse than her death; at least then he knew that she would be safe. There was no telling what lengths shinobi would go to in order to weasel out information from other ninja.

"Th-That's her blood." Hidan stated, his eyes widening slightly. "Who knew she would think of something like that? I should've given her more credit."

Itachi ignored him and continued to stare at the message. He had seen it once before, a long time ago, but being in ANBU meant that multiple codes needed to be cracked and his head was filled with them. So where had he seen it? He dived into the depths of his mind, searching for long forgotten memories. Seven years ago he had seen it. Seven years... What had been the focus of that particular year? The wiggly line... a snake. The letter 'O'...

He straightened up, terror rushing everywhere causing his hands to tremble with both anger and fear. Hidan seemed to notice the expression on Itachi's usually-passive face and he let out a humourless laugh.

"You've figured it out and it ain't fucking good."

"Of all the people. Of all the people for her to bump into, it had to be him," Itachi resting his hands against the wall, as though pushing it and his eyes seemed to turn dark.

"Who took her?" Hidan asked, bending his head around so he could glance at the side of Itachi's chiselled face. Itachi moved his staring eyes from the floor and tilted his head to gaze into Hidan's lilac orbs.

"Orochimaru." Hidan's eyes widened a fraction.

"The loony with the dead arms? What does he want with her? Is he trying to get into the Akatsuki? Wait, he's already been into the Akatsuki. Why would he want to get into it?" Hidan's constant ramblings meant nothing to Itachi. It seemed only yesterday that Sakura had clutched to him, crying because the snake had killed her parents and she blamed herself for it. Now she was in his hands and he knew there was only one reason why Orochimaru would target her; she was the Hokage's apprentice and her healing knowledge was almost as vastly-known as Lady Tsunade herself. There was no other eligible reason why he would go to such lengths to capture the kunoichi.

"He wants her to heal his immobile arms, no doubt," Itachi moved from the wall and leant his aching back against it, staring up at the dull sky with a frown twitching around his brow. "And she is too stubborn to do it. The amount of pain that she will have to go through..."

He moved away from the wall, masking his emotions instantly and returning his voice back to its usual cool tone. Hidan watched the Uchiha in amazement as he covered his angry emotions with the click of a finger.

"We will find this Akatsuki researcher and then get any information he has on Orochimaru. After we have killed him, we will head back to HQ and I will tell Pain what has happened. There will be no way to keep me held down, but I will give myself to the Akatsuki in order to bring Sakura back. Whether or not any of the members decide to help and bring down an old enemy of theirs is no concern to me, I will simply be asking for a short period of freedom in order to save her." Itachi ordered his plan to Hidan, loud and clear. Hidan found himself nodding in agreement, unable to speak at the sudden turnaround that Itachi had taken. Unknown to them both, they had switched roles. Itachi was now the leader and Hidan was the follower. Not only was it because Hidan trusted Itachi, but he also knew that if he were to attempt to engage in combat and ignore the Uchiha, he will be obliterated to Hell and back. There was no chakra bracelet to restrain the chakra that had built over time and now it was almost illuminating angrily out of Itachi's body. It was enough to make anyone bend to his will and have nightmares about the bloodlust that was hidden throughout the tiny cells of Itachi's chakra. The bloodlust didn't faze Hidan; it just sent an unusual wave of sympathy through him. He strolled up beside Itachi, slapping his shoulder with his hand and looking at the Uchiha's composed face.

"Just tell me what to do."

~*~

_Itachi... _Her mind called out to him, but she knew there would be no reply. She could feel her unrestricted chakra flowing wildly around her body, yet it still seemed to be locked away. It was as though her chakra had been split into two and the energy her body was flowing with at that moment was willed to do nothing but heal. She could pick apart the cells and analyse that the chakra floating around was meant to heal and do nothing else. It was then she was aware that she was being carried in strange and unfamiliar arms. The sharp wind pelting her unconscious face indicated they were jumping through the trees and yet she couldn't open her eyes to observe her surroundings. She was being kidnapped by Orochimaru, but the arms she rested in were warm and even strangely welcoming. Her foggy mind was filled with slight amusement – she was commenting on the softness of her kidnappers arms? She failed to see the irony of her situation; she had been kidnapped from her kidnappers.

As her energy began to drain away, she couldn't help but think how things had gone from bad to worse to full out chaotic.

~*~

"Where is he?" Itachi muttered to Kin – the Akatsuki pursuer. After hurriedly leaving the village at an immense speed, they had caught up with the man in next to no time. Within moments Kin had been in Itachi's grasp, pounded almost nearly to death in order to weedle out the information needed. Kin spat his own blood out onto the floor, then smiled slyly at Itachi, showing his blood-stained yellow teeth.

"Orochimaru was an ex-member of the Akatsuki, thrown out due to his attitude and inconsiderate feelings towards good will. Good will, my ass. They're still murdering innocent people, I mean, look at me for instance-" A smack echoed around the dark wood they were currently undertaking the interrogation in. Itachi placed his raised fist back down to his side, bringing the man closer to his face by the scruff of his neck.

"Continue." He said, passively. Kin Kioshi's face had switched to a tormented frown and he let out a hoarse laugh, spitting more blood from his upper lip to the floor. He was a fat, grotesque man and had obviously had more than his fair share of luxuries over the past 10 years or so.

"He likes it underground, that snake. He's been all over so why would such a lowly man such as myself know his location?" Kin spoke in a patronizing voice that was heard all-too clearly by Itachi. Itachi closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them, the crimson circles glaring almost hypnotically at the researcher in front of him.

"You will tell me," Itachi ordered. Kin shook his head, a grim smile spreading across his fat, chubby face.

"I don't grass on friends." Itachi brought the man closer to his face, tightening his hold on Kin's shirt. It was then he realised that Kin had not blinked and the smile stayed frozen on his face. He had killed himself using God knows what method.

Cursing mentally, Itachi threw the frozen man to the floor, stepping back out onto the road. Hidan waited for him patiently against a rough tree, muttering under his breath. He looked up as Itachi approached him.

"Any luck?" He asked, pushing himself off and toward Itachi. The Uchiha shook his head and continued to walk down the dusty road. Hidan had told him earlier that they were on the right course for the HQ and that once they were finished, it would only take a short amount of time to go and check in. So they were headed towards the Akatsuki Headquarters where Itachi was going to ask Pain politely if he would allow him to go and rescue Sakura. Itachi disliked killing the innocent and he would avoid resorting to painful methods whenever he could. Although when it came to Sakura – the one person who he had mentally promised to protect throughout the whole mess – he had no mercy. He wanted anyone who stood in his way killed.

"He has a base underground and if I had analysed the soil correctly in that particular area we found Kin in, I would say that route is used regularly by only one person who of which I assume is Kin himself. After 10 metres, the tracks fade off into nothing." Itachi announced his discovery as they ran through the trees, Hidan ahead of him. Hidan turned his head toward Itachi.

"Fucking impressive. I guess we're still just going in circles though. Why couldn't we go and search for his base then?" Hidan asked. Itachi looked ahead, his arms flying behind him as they ran along the pathway.

"Don't underestimate your opponent. I'm not quite sure a two-man team will be enough to take down Orochimaru and there is no point in rushing in just yet," Itachi bit his tongue before he could continue. He wanted to rush in and save Sakura – every minute they wasted meant one extra minute Sakura was in danger. He clenched his shaking fists tighter, yet kept his face schooled over in its usual expression.

"To think the Headquarters was so close to that snakes own base – it's frustrating." Hidan gritted his teeth and sped up his rushing footsteps. Itachi willingly followed, although quite unsure of the whereabouts of the final destination of their journey. They were in the Village Hidden in the Rain – that much he was sure of. Slowly, a looming, tall waterfall began to approach overhead and he knew almost instantly that that was their location. The water that had coursed down in front of the window in the room he and Sakura once occupied had already told him that much, but he was just unsure WHAT waterfall it happened to be. As they swiftly ran toward it, he began to contemplate the plan he had set up.

He should head back to the village – tell them about what had happened and what was currently wrong. But he couldn't bring himself to travel back to Konoha alone, only to tell them that he had allowed Sakura to be taken and he didn't want to rescue her without help. No; he would deal with the situation alone and clear up his own mistakes. He was certain that the ninja sent from the Leaf Village would only hold him back, whereas the Akatsuki seemed to be a lot more effective in situations such as these.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Itachi looked up, snapping out of his thinking trance, and looked up at Hidan who was staring at him curiously.

"You have the opportunity to run and head back to your village and you know full well I will make no move to stop you. Why aren't you?" Hidan elaborated, slowing down his pace as they approached the refreshing waterfall. Itachi watched as he placed a single hand to what seemed to be a random place. The water parted like a set of curtains and engulfed Hidan's hand, slowly draining away after a few minutes. Itachi wondered how he had not heard the water when he had previously left, but then he thought back to Hidan's question when an eyebrow was raised questioningly at him.

"The Leaf village is too far away – I will not be able to get there and back in time. Sakura needs to be rescued as quick as possible – I don't know how much clearer I can make that."

Hidan raised his hands up, showing his palms as though protesting his innocence. "Woah, cool it Uchiha. I was only asking."

The small square in the wall had moved away, revealing a familiar hallway that obviously led into the Akatsuki headquarters. Itachi watched it solemnly, although inside he was filled with awe and curiosity. Years he had been in ANBU and he had wondered where the Village Hidden in the Rain had been situated. Not only was he standing in it, but he was also being openly welcomed into the Headquarters of an infamous criminal group.

He took one step forward, into the surprising familiar warmth of the hallway and the smallest humourless smile twitched around his lips, yet it was contrasting with the feeling of dread pouring through every bone in his body.

After such a short time, he had returned to the place where he had been held as a captive for the past week. It had caused him a lot more hassle then he had wished for and it was his kidnappers fault that Sakura was now facing the problems she had. So why was it - after everything he and Sakura had been through - that he felt like he had returned home?

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I know you all want something put up and it might be a while before I upload again. I dunno. And anyway, I thought this was a good place to end the chapter. And about the whole 'Village Hidden in the Rain' thing. I googled it and I really don't have such a bright idea about it. All I know is that it's a pretty mysterious village and isn't well-known. So, in this case, it's a little bit like a backroom to a nightclub where people play cards and bet. That's what it's like.**

**I need to make just a few things clear. I'm grateful for all of the points people pointed out and everything - I even saved your review so I would remember to include stuff I'd forgotten! Obviously some things are unclear at the moment. That was fully intentional and will be explained later.**

**I've answered some of your questions, Diamonarie;**

**'Sakura's eyes are jade green'**  
Well, I'm a big enough Naruto fan to know that her eyes are just green. I guess I'm not too attuned to my colours. xD

**'Hidan curses way more than you have him to.'  
**I know he curses WAY more. Someone else commented on this too. I don't feel comfortable with him swearing in every other sentence as it doesn't really fit my writing style, but I am slowly increasing his use of bad language. :)

**'I don't think Orochimaru uses genjutsu.'**  
Well, things have obviously become a little clearer in this chapter. And I think every ninja can do at least a basic genjutsu.

**'Itachi never ever shows emotions/expressions unless u count when he died...'**  
Itachi is quite emotional in this chapter and appears to be in recent ones too. You have to remember that his entire clan has NOT been killed so therefore, he's going to be a little softer then usual. A bit like how he was with Sasuke in those adorable brotherly flashbacks. :3

**'I absolutely love Deidara'**  
Ahaha. I have to admit, I like the way he turned out too! I don't remember him all that much from the manga and I guess I sort of gave him a personality similar to what I remembered

The answer to your question, ':3' :

**'Couldnt itachi just use his sharingan to see through the blind fold?'  
**Well, I wasn't aware that the Sharingan could see through material. If this is the case, then again, this is just another loophole that is found within this story and I'm afraid there really isn't a way around it. I'm pretty sure that the Sharingan is only to follow handsigns and interperet other ninja's movements though. :P

**Hope that answered a few things! Thanks for mentioning this, really. I love it when my mistakes are pointed out, that means I can correct them! :D  
**

**Thanks to rebellious-and-ditzy-bookworm whose wicked reviews have been not only boosting my confidence, but giving me the critisicm I need to improve my fanfiction. Seeing as though this is my first naruto fanfiction that isn't a oneshot, I need all I can get and honestly, I would be happy if only she continued to flame. Thank you so much!**

**I know it's a little rushed. I won't be afraid to admit - I struggle to make each chapter over 5,000 words. I was running out of things to do on their missions and the sole purpose of this fanfiction is actually where the story is headed at the moment. I just wasn't going to tell anyone. ;3 I got the whole story planned out, it just needs to be written down on word and then put up on here. That's harder than you think. D:**

**Thank you again to everyone that is reviewing - honestly, it means so much to me. I love hearing what you have to say. **


	11. Snake

-

**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

Sakura awakened from her deep slumber noting two different things. One – despite the fact that her weary eyes had opened, the room she occupied was still very dark. And two – her arms were braced above her head in metal shackles – presumably chakra infused – with her feet braced identically below her. She was immobile, her muscles ached, her head still hadn't stopped throbbing and she knew that she was in a whole lot of trouble.

"You're awake." Sakura jumped at the calm voice, yet at the same time feeling stupid for not sensing the presence in the first place. The voice was familiar and yet she couldn't place a finger on who exactly it was. It wasn't until the figure approached her, the only slice of light in the room spreading across his face, that the disbelief of her stupidity rose again. Kabuto – Orochimaru's loyal servant. He had been the one carrying her earlier. She had said that the silver-haired boy's arms were welcoming! She shivered at the memory and narrowed her eyes dangerously at the approaching servant.

"Stay away from me," she struggled against the bonds she had been tied with and hissed at Kabuto with distaste. He stood only a mere foot away from her and shook his head, pushing his circle-rimmed glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Orochimaru needs his arms back to their original state and since the legendary Sannin is no longer in our grasp, we took the next best thing." Kabuto scanned Sakura's body, but not perversely. It was as though he was analysing her, trying to see whether or not she was fully compatible for the job. Sakura shook against the braces again and frowned angrily.

"I would never make the Third Hokage's sacrifice so pointless. You should have known that a medic such as myself would never sink so low to help you filthy criminals." She was surprised herself at the words that spurred from her mouth, but her lack of chakra, energy and stability made her mood all the more foul. Kabuto's lips twitched in humourless amusement and he raised his left arm, revealing a deadly looking contraption to her. It looked familiar and she scanned her memories for the time when she had seen it once before, keeping a careful watch on Kabuto as she did so.

He stepped forwards and she recoiled horribly, letting out a growl of frustration at the vulnerable state she was in. Kabuto reached his arm outward, ignoring her incoherent insults and evading. The machine clamped around her stomach and the moment it did, she realised just what exactly it was.

"Chakra drainer – " Her sentence was cut off as a searing pain ran through her, almost able to feel the last fragments of her chakra being drained away. Once again, it stole only the chakra she would have used for battle, not the healing chakra that she needed. Her throat began to grow coarse from screaming and slowly the pain ebbed aside, leaving her breathless. She leant forwards, her eyes screwed shut tightly and her bounded fists clenched. After recovering, she lifted her head back up to gaze toward the man that she had once fought alongside in the chuunin exams. And she almost fell back forwards with shock.

It was there, for the smallest of seconds, but she had noticed it. Whether it was her delirious mind playing up, or the trick of the light, she was sure she had seen a look of regret and sympathy in Kabuto's eyes. Deciding that it had been nothing more than a misread expression, Sakura allowed her curiosity to get the better of her.

"My chakra – you've split it into two. That shouldn't be possible." Sakura croaked, staring at the young man in front of her. Kabuto stared on at her blankly, his eyes sweeping upwards to her wrist.

"It shouldn't have been possible for that chakra bracelet to be broken either, but I broke it. That hostage jutsu was only created by that Akatsuki friend of yours and there was no chance for it to be broken. Yet, here you are, with Orochimaru's very own chakra bracelet on your arm to keep you in place."

Sakura's eyes' widened and she hurriedly look upwards at her bound wrists. He was right – instead of the sparkling blue that she had once seen, it was replaced with a dark red. Almost immediately, she felt the dark, malicious intent seeping from the bracelet that she had not felt with Kiko's. It made her shudder in disgust.

"This bracelet is the most revolting thing to have ever come into contact with my body." Sakura whispered more to herself than to Kabuto in front of her. She felt, now, the tiny fragments of Orochimaru's dark chakra that was connected to the cells of the medical chakra that she had been left with. It was disgusting – as though the beast was actually inside of her.

Another wave of intense pain ran through her and she screamed once again, the bolts from the chakra absorber piercing her skin like millions of pricks from needles. After recovering, she once again looked toward Kabuto, and saw a look of utter blankness on his face.

"There is no telling what Orochimaru will do to you if you refuse to heal his arms. It would be wise if you were to follow his orders and then leave, unharmed." Kabuto spoke coldly and tonelessly. Sakura clenched her fists.

"I will not help to revive the man who killed my parents. My decision is final." She stated boldly, gritting her teeth and knowing that, in refusing, all would not end well. Kabuto turned from her, opening the door to the windowless room she was occupying and letting a long ray of light shine in. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes now – Kabuto seemed almost sorry for her. She sighed and allowed herself to fall forward, the binds stopping her from falling to the floor completely.

~*~

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep and for a moment, she was unsure of what had awoken her. It was then she felt the cold, harsh breath of the one man she had spent her entire life fearing, right beside the base of her ear.

"Good evening, Sakura. How are you enjoying your stay?" Sakura lashed out violently toward Orochimaru, his pointless jibe waking her from her tired state and arousing the short temper that she had inherited from her mentor.

"It's been bloody, frickin' amazing, you filthy snake." Sakura's voice was filled with pure venom and Orochimaru's eyes twinkled for a short moment.

"Ah, the anger you have. You would make a perfect teammate for me. Not only will I be able to indulge – " He purposefully scanned Sakura's slim figure with his golden eyes, causing her to almost tremble with revolution. " – I will also have such a strong... _specimen _to heal me when necessary-"

"I'll heal you the day Hell freezes over." Sakura bit back, interrupting him rudely. He wasn't fazed and seemed simply even more intrigued at the malice in her tone. He leant forwards quickly, his head within inches of her own. She tilted her head away, trembling with fear and anger simultaneously. The snake leant forward and pressed his nose against her long, slender neck, that she had revealed once having turned her head.

"Oh, Sakura. You are too much like your parents. You remember don't you? When they shouted at you to leave. Your mother said the very same thing." His lips moved against her neck, but the impact of his words countered the feeling of disgust.

"_Go Sakura! Get out of here!" Her mother had shouted at her through the ANBU mask. Sakura remained sitting, traumatised, on the tree branch, her legs spread out behind her and her hands placed limply in front of her. _

"_Sakura. Go now!" Her father had shouted, while dodging away from Orochimaru's kunai. The pale-faced reptile looked thoroughly amused at the attempts to protect their daughter and looked at the pink-haired, young, kunoichi for more than a split second before stretching his long neck snaking toward her, a look of hunger in his eyes._

"_I guess I should indulge in a little something before we continue this fight. Don't worry – it'll be over soon." Orochimaru had come so close. So very close to Sakura's limp, trembling body. But her mother had stood in the way. Orochimaru's sharp fangs had embedded themselves in her side and with every tightening of his jaw, she screamed in pain, her blood pouring from her wounds and onto the floor – onto Sakura._

"_The day I let you get my daughter is the day Hell freezes over." Her mother had then grasped Orochimaru by the head and twisted it, relishing in the sickening crunch of his neck. But in a cloud of smoke, the figure was gone and left behind was nothing more than a grey stump. Sakura remained motionless, useless and utterly mortified as her mother fell from the branch and limply dropped 600 feet to her death. No tragic last words. No last wishes. Just one fatal attempt to save her scared daughter._

Sakura didn't realise the tears spilling from her face until Orochimaru made a noise of utter glee, while brushing his lips against the base of her collarbone.

"You will heal my arms for me, Sakura. And you know why?" He moved backwards so his icy face was almost nose-to-nose with Sakura, whom was still staring at a blank spot on the floor, silent tears falling down her pale face.

"I can bring your parents back."

~*~

She knew what it was. The one way of torture that can even break some of the strongest shinobi down to nothing but a whimpering mess. Mental torture – better than any physical torture. Although the chakra drainer was doing its fair share of the physical part, the one thing Orochimaru had said to her – was it a day or a week ago? – still echoed in her troubled mind. Human revival was impossible. Any jutsu's that could have been made in order to bring back the dead would involve sacrificing one's life in order to do so. And even then, only the most talented, ancient medic-nin could invent such a thing and it was known that such shinobi don't exist anymore.

So why? Why would Orochimaru put such a ludicrous idea into her head, saying that he can bring back her parents, if it wasn't possible? Her head ached from thinking and her ears itched for any sound coming from outside the dark, murky walls. She wanted to ask the snake so many questions – how? Why? _If?_ But she didn't know how long it had been since she had last seen him, whether or not she would _ever _ see him. Kabuto had fed her one soldier pill per day and gave her water, but he had refused to speak. Had refused to meet her eyes.

Once again, the door to the cell opened and she didn't even bother looking up in hope. She knew that Orochimaru was not planning to talk to her, to even bother explaining anything to her. It was strange – how for so long, she wished never to look into those cold, golden eyes ever again and yet she found herself needing desperately to see them.

"He can do it. It's not a lie." Sakura looked up in surprise at Kabuto, who approached her swiftly with a soldier pill and drink in hand. She eyed him warily, yet inside she was burning with excitement and curiosity.

"You can't revive the dead. What makes him so special?" She hissed, although slightly softer than usual. Kabuto winced against her deadly tone and leant forwards, gesturing for her to eat the pill. She obliged reluctantly. She had never liked taking soldier pills – they lacked the vitamins and vital minerals that allowed your body to stay healthy. Yet she didn't really have a choice and so she continued to crunch on the salty pill.

She was surprised when Kabuto lifted a reassuring hand to the strands of hair in front of her face, before brushing them back behind her ear. It was even more surprising when she didn't find herself flinching away.

"In exchange for the use of his arms, he would gladly revive your parents." Kabuto whispered softly, if a little emotionlessly, before reaching up to make her drink the water. Sakura kept her jade eyes on Kabuto, never taking them away from his face. What had happened to that cynical, ferocious boy that had attempted to kill Naruto that one time while searching for Tsunade?

"But if he uses those arms to put other people's lives in danger, then the deal would be selfish on my part." She spoke after having drunk the water that she needed. "I won't revive him, so I can live happily ever after with my parents while he strolls around, wreaking havoc. My parents _died _in honourable combat, trying to protect me. Bringing them back would be unnatural and cruel." Sakura spoke evenly, but inside she felt like curling up into a ball and crying like a little child. Since Orochimaru had said he could bring her parents back, she had felt nothing but a strange mix of joy, excitement, horror and fear. She had looked forward to seeing them again, and under the harsh reality of what she had just said, she realised that she wouldn't.

Kabuto's face was once again, expressionless and he held the glass she had drunk from in both hands. His eyes shone with an emotion she couldn't place and the words he spoke next were so quiet, she had to stretch her senses in order to hear them.

"If that is the case, I'm sorry. I am _so _sorry." Before she could question exactly what he meant, he left hastily, leaving Sakura alone in the room and his words sticking to the darkness.

~*~

Sakura bit back another yelp as pain punctured her cheek, sending her slamming to the floor. Yes, her shackles had been removed. But only so that Orochimaru could have the satisfaction of watching her being slammed against the wall. Two bracelets occupied her wrists and she was unable to use any chakra. The only chakra that seemed to seep through her hands was the dark, malicious chakra that the snake had infused with her own. It was no use to her – it would only work on the foul beast in front of her.

"My darling Sakura, just how much can that fragile body take?" Orochimaru was leant against the wall, watching as a burly stranger dressed in a black, hooded cloak beat her senseless into the ground. Sakura pushed her sore hands into the cold floor, rising back onto her knees and spitting the blood that had emerged from her bottom lip, onto the floor. Wiping away the blood with the back of her hand, she rose back onto her feet and stood in a fighting stance. She knew it was no use – the machine that was eating her chakra was draining all of her energy alongside it.

Evading another punch, she ducked and swept her leg around to bring the attacker to the ground. It failed, however, as the hooded man had jumped to easily avoid it. There was no doubt that this man was a shinobi. No other man could have detected such a fast movement. She was sent towards the wall again and she groaned as she landed roughly on her long, bruised arm. There was no doubt that it was heavily bruised and she automatically sent chakra to her hands to heal it, only to remember her current situation. Cursing under her breath, she rose back to her feet with difficulty, while pondering how exactly it was that people lived without chakra.

"I won't heal your arms." She panted out breathlessly as she bent double, clutching her knees to hold her upright. Orochimaru's lips upturned at the corners.

"You will. There is two options here; you can be beaten to a pulp everyday for the rest of your pitiful life or you can heal my arms and live the rest of your life with your parents. Tell me, which one seems to be the most logical choice?" His hissing, snake-like tone irritated Sakura to no ends, causing her teeth to grit with annoyance. She had made her decision – she would refuse until she died or was rescued.

Rescue... The thought of it brought a painful stab to Sakura's heart. Since capture, she had avoided thinking of him as she knew it would bring nothing but false hope. Itachi. No doubt by now, Hidan and Itachi would have noticed her missing, but there was also the minute possibility that they had been killed. It was unlikely and something she definitely didn't want to think about.

Her internal clock had switched off and she had no idea how long she had been in the hands of Orochimaru. She wanted to believe that the Akatsuki would rescue her, bring her back to safety. But when she thought about it in context, she knew the painful truth. Akatsuki were in no need of a medic. The loss of her affected them ever-so-slightly, but it was nothing that wouldn't go amiss. The only reason she had been kept was for the simple reason that she and Itachi came as a pair, or that if they were in need of some hefty cash, they could pass her over to the Leaf Village for a ransom. She didn't want to think of rescue, because that would also mean having to think about being left to die.

Another wave of pain sent her doubling over onto the floor again and she clutched her stomach, retching into the ground. She had been breathing too heavily and the air that had been released after being punched in the stomach now exerted all at once.

"Childish refusal is not something I take interest in. Take the easy way out, kunoichi." Sakura's eyed widened in fear as Orochimaru's voice echoed in her ear, his cold breath skimming along her sweaty skin. "Your parents and you living happily again, side-by-side. Far away from the Leaf Village and danger of the shinobi world."

Despite her efforts, the life that she could have flashed before Sakura's eyes. It couldn't be helped – the amount of times she had dreamt about living a carefree life with her parents instead of the dangerous one she was in now, was way into the four-figures.

She screwed her eyes shut and pressed the heel of her palms against them, entwining her long fingers into her pink, matted locks.

"Stop it. It's not right." She shook her head to emphasize and ducked lower, keeping the hold on her face and hair tight. Orochimaru smirked in victory as he knew that his form of torture seemed to be having a more desired effect.

"Think about it Sakura; no fights, no war, no death. Just happy families and the warm, comforting arms of your mother." He moved forward again, being careful not to move his wounded arms. Sakura was silent as she removed her hands from her face, the matted pink hair covering her eyes.

"I'll tell you what I think.." she began in a sad, hurtful tone. Orochimaru's smile widened as he began to feel his success shoot through the roof. Sakura turned around on her knees, almost as if ready to bow in front of Orochimaru and said:

"I think you're nothing but a worthless, pile of shit."

Sakura lunged forwards and sank her teeth deep into Orochimaru's neck. He yelled in pain and fell backwards, unable to push her off as his arms were disabled.

"Get her off me, idiot!" He shouted at the hooded man. The hidden shinobi went to lift his foot, but it never arose from the floor. He began to struggle viciously.

"Remember when you tried doing this to Sasuke? Remember when you told him that he could be stronger if he only had faith in you? Well, I'm returning the favour." She sank her teeth deeper into the snake's neck, feeling her stomach bubble with intense nausea as the warm blood began to seep around her mouth. His yells echoed in the cell.

A jagged pain in her stomach sent her off of Orochimaru and back into the dusty, dark wall. She yelled as a snap echoed in the cell, her rib now obviously broken. Orochimaru flipped over onto his front and struggled onto his feet using only his head, biting back the yells of pain that he felt coursing through his neck, arms and legs.

"You pathetic girl. What have you done?" He hissed into the darkness, stumbling back onto his front once again. Even with the pain that ran through Sakura's body, she still managed to release a sharp laugh.

"After having someone else's chakra inside your body for long enough, you can use it to your own advantage. The one place in your body that doesn't have a barrier of skin – the mouth. The dark venom in your malicious chakra is like a poison that you _should_ be able to withstand. But since there are fragments of mine in there, it's twice as painful." She gazed over to the squirming Orochimaru. "Rule Number 3 in the shinobi rules – A shinobi must see underneath the underneath. Isn't that right, Legendary Sannin?"

The load yell of frustration that Orochimaru let out satisfied Sakura and she was still smiling as he stumbled toward her after having finally rose to his feet. He wasn't worried about composure as he brought back his trembling legs to kick her broken rib with force. The high she had received from her victory quickly fell as blinding agony tore through her.

"I've had enough of your refusing and disobedience. Now I have no choice but to use excessive force." Orochimaru quickly fell to his knees so he could look into Sakura's torn expression. His neck was bleeding profusely and no doubt the poison was spreading throughout his body quickly. Sakura knew it was not enough to kill him, just weaken his senses after the first minute of excruciating pain. But it had been a show of her rebellious nature and she was glad that he would leave the room with a wound. He leant forward so his lips were almost brushing hers. She attempted to flick her head away, but Orochimaru's pale, sweaty forehead was pressed firmly against her own.

"You are fiery, ferocious and a staunch pain. I have told you once before and I will tell you again, we could have been a great team and-" Sakura's ears pricked up as a sound in the distance brought her attention away from the clammy lips in front of her and the drawling words from Orochimaru. It had sounded like an explosion. Hope ran through her for the quickest of seconds, before she remembered that they were in an underground room. It was surely common – sounds from up above - judging by the way Orochimaru hadn't sensed it.

"- your parents would have liked you working alongside _another_ Legendary Sannin. Oh, the possibilities... your strength and healing abilities combined with my S-ranked jutsu-"

There it was again. The crashing. And was that... voices? Sakura lifted her bruised leg up, kicking Orochimaru square in the chin before hauling herself back to her feet. Orochimaru stood back to his full height and was screwing his face shut tightly. She knew that the kick had no effect on him whatsoever, but it had shocked him nonetheless. That was what she had needed.

"Your incessant attempts to hurt me are futile, Sakura." Orochimaru opened his eyes into narrow slits and Sakura switched her gaze between the snake and the door.

"I may have to shackle you up in order to gain some of that obedience back that you seemed to have with my dear assistant Kabuto." He took a step toward her and Sakura mirrored it backwards, as though he was a magnet repelling her. She knew there was no chance of escaping now – she would be tied back into those bindings and would remain Orochimaru's pet until she committed suicide. The hooded man had managed to release one of his feet from the invisible string of dark chakra that Sakura had managed to squeeze out before it was restrained and was working hard on unbinding the other one.

A familiar itching appeared in her stomach as she mirrored yet another step of Orochimaru's and she froze, knowing what would come next. This would be the start of her downfall.

The chakra contraption on her abdomen flared into life and she screamed in anguish, falling onto all fours. With her broken ribs and bruised muscles, it made the process a whole lot more painful. Orochimaru took one step forward, the look of triumph sadistically showing on his face as he watched Sakura scream.

"My Sakura. My pet. My blossom-"

The door to the cell suddenly exploded into fragments and Orochimaru flung around in surprise. The screams of Sakura died down and her arms trembled with the effort to keep herself up. She raised her dizzy eyes toward the doorway. A familiar, blonde-haired man stood in the shadow of the light, his hand still raised in the air.

"I believe that's _my _blossom, yeah?"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I'm being honest... I thought the ending was dodgy. And there is probably THOUSANDS of loopholes in this, but I don't really care. Sorry for the lack of Itachi, but I have a good idea for the next chapter and if I do it right, it might turn out pretty good. Umm, if there's any mistakes, could you point them out? I've been real lazy with this chapter and I'm sure there's gotta be a couple in there.**

**Got two weeks of mock exams now, so I may or may not have time to update. Depends how much feedback I get... ;D **

**Nah, revision must come before fanfiction! **

**...**

**I keep telling myself that, but somehow it never seems to stick. WELL, anyway, I have an idea for a new fanfic! It will be a ItaSaku and definitely a non-massacre-ish. Ha, now you're curious. ;) I think me and the whole 'action/mystery' thing don't work out. Loopholes, loopholes, loopholes...**

**Keep an eye out for it! I may just begin the first chapter before I finish this!**

**Review, tell me if you like how it's going and OH, I'm sorry Kabuto is WAAAY out of character. I'll explain why later. **

**Flames appreciated maybe even more than reviews. Okay, I didn't mean that, but I would LOVE them anyway. Okay? That's this obscenely long authors note finished.**

**Cylinder - out.**


	12. Failed

-

**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

The homely feeling was definitely worrying him. If he wasn't so stressed about the situation with Sakura, then he would have left as swiftly as possible just to get rid of the worrying feeling. But he couldn't. Not when the infamous, blood-thirsty group of the shinobi world had gathered together in order to prepare a strategy to save Sakura who must be no more than a measly medic-nin in their eyes. A week, he had had to wait for the group to gather together. The only people that happened to be in the HQ when he arrived was Deidara and Tobi and they were not enough to go and take down Orochimaru. Armless or not.

"He won't stand a chance against all of us. Do you really think it's necessary to dispatch the whole group?" Kisame commented, gesturing to the table they were seated around for emphasis.

"Yeah, he's a weak bastard, that foul-smelling, abnormal son of a-"

"That's enough, Hidan." Sasori interrupted. Hidan scowled, but shut his mouth all the same. Pain ignored the short disruption and nodded in agreement.

"It does seem unnecessary. Orochimaru was the weakest of the group when he was involved with us, so it will not take much to defeat him." Pain gazed around the table, observing each of the Akatsuki as though analysing them for the task.

"Hidan, Kisame, Sasori and Itachi. You will be enough." Itachi nodded, clearly not noticing that he had just agreed to work alongside people who are classed as S-class criminals. A chair scraped backwards.

"Are you kidding me? You think she'd want Jaws or Pinocchio to save her from that bastard, or me? I'm closer to her then anyone here!" He stopped when they all stared at him. It had been the first time he had spoken since he had received the news and at first, he thought that was the reason. But he realised why when he caught Itachi's glare. Wow, there was some murderous intent behind those eyes. Deidara coughed.

"With the exception of the Uchiha, of course."

Pain stared at the blonde blankly.

"I don't require your assistance on this mission. You will let emotions get the better of you and will do something irrational." Deidara gritted his teeth angrily at the Leaders request and threw himself back into his chair, crossing his arms angrily. It was true – his emotions could get the better of him. But no one else had seen the distraught, angry expression on the Uchiha's face, because they hadn't spent as much time with him as he had. Itachi Uchiha was one person whose emotions would arise at times like this and threaten the end of mankind.

"We need a plan. We can't just go storming into that place, it's obviously going to have some sort of variety of lethal traps waiting in there. From what I heard, Orochimaru's old base in Sound had traps that were almost undetectable." Kisame spoke up first. The team of four nodded in agreement.

"I say we just go right the fuck in. Fuck the traps. That shit-headed snake thought he was hidden, right under our noses so I doubt traps would have been laid. Anyway, you think that wimpy Akatsuki fan knew how to disable S-rank shinobi traps?" Hidan suggested. Again, they all nodded.

"And he's completely armless. He would have to hire other shinobi to do his dirty deeds while he waits for his next body, or if Sakura decides to-"

"No." Itachi interrupted Kisame. "She wouldn't." There was an awkward silence. Another question was brought up.

It was a long debate – to Itachi anyway – and after 10 minutes, they had set up their plan and were ready to go and save the kunoichi.

Kisame, Hidan, Itachi and Sasori – who had been silent for the debate - rose from their seats, heading towards the door to the dining room, in which they had been seated in. It was what Tobi said next which seemed to cause everyone to halt their movement.

"Hey, where's Dei-dei?"

~*~

They couldn't just force him to sit in that claustrophobic HQ with no one but an annoying, immature orange-faced twat and two people who are about as entertaining as a goldfish. Not while Sakura - his blossom - was sitting in a dark room, alone with that sadistic snake creep.

He cursed as his foot caught on the bottom of his robes, almost sending him to the floor. He straightened up and let out a tense, stressful sigh, before running a hand through his loose blonde fringe and continuing through the woods. He had asked the Uchiha the moment they had entered the HQ where Sakura was. Once he had been informed, he had managed to discreetly ask Hidan the whereabouts of the snake's dreadful lair. He was surprised that the grey-haired, foul-mouthed member had actually told him.

Deidara pushed a branch away from his face and cautiously entered the space in the forestry. He hoped the bastard Uchiha was right and that the base was found in the centre of the forest, because if not then their silly plan-making back at HQ would be useless and they would have to acknowledge that Sakura would never be found. He shuddered at the thought of never seeing her again.

She sure meant a lot to him, considering they were sworn enemies and he was supposed to be her captor. He didn't know what it was. Was it the way she smiled brightly? Or the fact that she was different to any other girl Deidara had ever met? He'd never met anyone whose monstrous strength rivalled the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, whom he had once battled many years ago. It was the first time he had almost been killed in a battle.

A branch snapping alerted Deidara and he moved his hand down to his pouch by his thigh, then he let out a sigh of relief when a squirrel scurried out from underneath a dying bush. It was then he noticed the small square of wood in the opening of the bush where the squirrel had just fled from. He stepped forwards cautiously, eyeing what looked to be a trap door. Excitement coursed through him and he leapt forwards, grasping the metal handle. But it opened before he could pull it.

He leapt backwards, kunai in his hand. A silver-haired boy with circle glasses stepped out into the open, a pained expression on his face. He observed Deidara intensely and his dark eyes brightened.

"Akatsuki." He smiled and nodded to Deidara. Deidara looked around the opening, as though pondering what to do next. It didn't look like the boy was preparing to attack. So he stood out of his defensive stance and placed the kunai back into his other pouch.

"You're not going to attack me?" He asked. The boy shook his head, moving to the side so the trap door was visible.

"I'm sick of my life filled with sin. That girl down there-" He gestured into the entrance. "-is going through something she does not deserve and I couldn't disobey my masters orders by helping her. I couldn't reveal the whereabouts of our HQ and I was hoping that the Akatsuki researcher would reveal it to you. I'm glad that it has been found."

Deidara swallowed and cautiously took a step forwards. "This isn't a trap?"

The boy shook his head, spreading his arms wide in innocence. "I don't have any weapons and I'm sure, with your perception skills, you should be able to tell if I had anyone waiting for you down there." He tilted his head backwards towards the trap door. Deidara walked forwards swiftly and jumped into the door, not caring if it was a trap. Itachi had been right - Sakura was definitely down there.

He had become so attuned to her scent, that the strength of it was almost over-powering when he landed in the dark, gloomy hallway. He figured the door must have had a chakra protection shield over it. The silver-haired boy landed beside him and Deidara turned quickly, to prepare in case the boy happened to start attacking him. After watching him walk past him, gesturing for him to follow, Deidara quickly came to the conclusion that the boy was no danger to him. He was lucky - to have bumped into someone who would so easily betray his master.

"I have fed her for this past week and she helped push me over the line. She said nothing, but spoke with her eyes." The boy looked slightly embarrassed at mentioning something so private. "She is a beautiful young girl and I very much believe I'm in love with her."

Deidara eyed the boy in surprise and instead of hitting the boy with jealousy, he smiled. Sakura had managed to capture the attention of an S-rank criminal, just by looking at him. She sure was something.

"I'm fed up of my life. I would proudly sacrifice myself to allow her to live on." The boy stopped walking, looking slightly guilty, pained and sad. Deidara stopped and jumped when he felt his stomach bubble with some emotion he hadn't felt before. Was it… sympathy? The blonde shook himself up. No. He was just nervous.

A sudden distant yell from down the corridor dragged Deidara's stare away from the boy and both of their heads turned to stare into the darkness. The boys' eyes widened.

"Orochimaru." He whispered. Deidara grinned to himself. Sakura was putting up a fight. They ran together down the corridor, turning corners and moving swiftly through the labyrinth. A quiet, sharp feminine yell and crack rang through the two male's ears, causing them to stop instead of continuing. Deidara swallowed bile and his eyes were straining, wide and almost out of their sockets.

"What is he doing to her?" He whispered into the darkness, surprised at the hoarseness of his own voice. The boy shook his head and Deidara heard him swallow.

"Let's keep going." They continued to run, Deidara's stomach churning at the possibility that the crack would have been Sakura's- he stopped himself from thinking. _Think positive, _he told himself.

Shortly after his order to himself, a loud yell of frustration bounced off of the dark, gloomy walls and he sagged in relief, while still running through the maze. She must be still alive in order to annoy the snake so much. However, he felt extremely uncomfortable when silence stretched and nothing else was heard.

"What do you think is happening?" The boy whispered, panting slightly from having ran too much. Deidara let out a humourless laugh.

"You're his disciple. You tell -" He was interrupted by a scream. A loud, piercing scream that caused his ears to ring and his stomach to boil with dread. His entire body went numb. It was Sakura.

He ran - no - he _sprinted _to the source of the noise, no longer able to take the suspense and terror. He heard the boy struggling to keep up behind him, but he didn't care. He needed to save Sakura before she was scarred. He stopped running outside a door that seemed to be glowing blue with a chakra shield. This has to be it.

"-my pet, my blossom-" The sound of Orochimaru's snake-like voice calling Sakura THAT name. Anything else would have done nothing but anger him to the point of no return. But that? No. He wasn't angry. He was enraged.

He used his hand to grab the clay from his bag, not bothering to use the mouths that were attached to his palms. Instead, he grasped a hefty amount and threw it at the door, blowing it up upon impact.

"I believe that's _my _blossom, yeah?"

~*~

Sakura couldn't believe it. She was safe. Of all the people who could have come to save her, it was the one person she least expected. Deidara looked more furious then she had ever seen him. She was almost afraid of him herself.

Orochimaru pulled himself to his feet with great difficulty, considering the lack of arms. He looked angry and almost a little… scared. But Orochimaru wasn't staring at Deidara in fury - no - he was staring at the boy behind him. Kabuto.

"You filthy traitor." The snake hissed, his tongue darting out angrily from his mouth. Kabuto looked terrified, but his face showed determination. Sakura smiled slightly to herself. That wasn't Kabuto anymore. He was completely different to the boy who had helped them through the chuunin exams. Completely different to the boy who had attempted to kill Naruto.

"I'm not a traitor. I was doing what I thought was right. I broke no rules that were given to me." He retorted, his voice shaky and slightly wavering. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes in anger, then let out a yelp as he was suddenly pressed against the wall, Deidara's hand wrapped around his pale, thin throat. Sakura's eyes widened. He had moved so fast, it would almost put Rock Lee to shame.

"I'm going to kill you." Deidara thrust his arm into his pouch and began to chew on the soft clay that sat in his pocket. Sakura watched as the two stared each other down and began to worry when she realised that Orochimaru's face was no longer showing fear, but instead a sly smile.

"You shouldn't have come alone." He hissed, then his eyes flashed dangerously. Deidara's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed to the dirty floor, his cape flapping around him as he fell.

"Deidara!" Sakura yelled, using what little energy she had to push herself towards him. Orochimaru ignored the scene happening in front of him and nodded at the hooded man, who swiftly left. Then he turned to Kabuto, who was staring at his master in shock.

"You said you hadn't learnt that genjutsu." He whispered. Orochimaru smirked evilly and took a step forwards.

"I needed to keep some things from you, dear Kabuto. In case you decided to pull a stunt like this."

Sakura shook Deidara's shoulder, her eyebrows creasing in worry. Dread ran through her. It wasn't possible for someone to be killed with a single look was it? She grasped Deidara's cloak. She didn't know. So many new jutsu's had been thrown at her over the past 2 weeks - it made the jutsu's she'd researched back the Leaf Village almost insignificant.

After checking Deidara's pulse, she went into medic-mode. She checked his pupils and found they were dilated. It was the same symptoms you would receive after drinking too much sake.

"Time to leave, girl. The rest of that infernal group will be here soon, no doubt and I have no wish to lose you before I have the chance to heal my arms."

Sakura shook her head and stared at Deidara's peaceful face. She had come so close to rescue. If Deidara had just kept control of his emotions… She paused. That's right! The rest of the group must be on the way to save her. She was overwhelmed with happiness, until a hand wrapped itself around her wrist. She looked up at the hooded man.

"GET OFF ME." She yanked at the firm grip and lifted her other arm to help. It was no use. The man was stronger than her when her chakra was depleted as much as it had been.

"Knock her out." Orochimaru's order was firm and tense. It was clear he wanted to escape the HQ and run for safety. Sakura heard him curse.

"I should have chosen a place further away from that blasted group." His voice came out as a pure hiss, the snake side of him coming out in his deadly anger. Sakura stood up onto her feet, concluding that she would rather take the journey conscious. The hooded man looked to Orochimaru to see whether he should still knock her out, but concluded that his 'master' was too occupied with his thoughts to notice anyway. Sakura paled and followed the snake out of the door, hoping, with everything she had left in her, that the group she had grown up fearing, would come to her rescue.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Okay, this is a STUPIDLY short chapter. As you can probably tell, my writing in this is sort of forced and rushed. It's just, I've had a little case of writers block over xmas and I realised it's been a month since I updated. I'M SO SORRY. **

**I can't write action scenes. I think they're boring as hell and I really didn't think the way Deidara's rescue went was satisfactory, to me anyway. Kabuto is extremely OOC. Sorry for that.**

**Also, there is a lot of stuff to explain. Just ask me questions, I'll answer them. I'LL UPDATE FASTER THIS MONTH! xD**

**I would have made this longer, but I've spent the whole day writing just this. Hopefully my mind will clear up a little.**

**Snowbows is up and going. I quite enjoy the way it's going, so let's hope I don't focus on that instead of Rainflakes. :) But if I don't update on this, I'll update on Snowbows to keep you busy.**

**Review! **


	13. Drugged

-

**Rainflakes**

_'Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

_-_

The fresh air hit Sakura hard in the face and she inhaled the clean oxygen greedily, glad to finally be able to breathe something that hadn't seeped through the cracks in the underground room. It was the first breath of fresh oxygen she had taken in for over a week.

"The Land of Sound is where we are headed. Best we return home, right Kabuto?" Orochimaru spoke with his voice laden with sarcasm and he settled his yellow orbs on the boy. Kabuto visibly swallowed and nodded, unsure how to react. Sakura knew that Kabuto would not last much longer if he stayed by Orochimaru's side. He _had _bought someone into the secret HQ who he thought could defeat his master, after all.

"Get moving." Orochimaru hissed. Kabuto obliged and Sakura slowly followed, cautiously brushing the machine that was still stuck to her stomach. She needed to get the contraption off and now that her hands were free, she had the chance to find a way. Gazing at her hand that rested on the machine, she observed the chakra bracelet. It was just her luck - to discover that such things existed before she had the chance to find a way to dispose of both of them. Feeling hostage made her feel vulnerable and if it wasn't for Deidara, she would have resorted to suicide before the end of the month. It was the only way she would have been set free.

But now she was sure that she had rescue. It may have been a fluke that Deidara had come after her, but it had meant that he had been told of her whereabouts. That meant they knew where she was, they knew she was in danger.

Orochimaru walked through the opening between two trees, cautiously looking around the road that he was about to set foot on. He looked left, then right, then stepped out onto the road. Kabuto followed and the two waited as the hooded man and Sakura clambered up to stand beside them.

"This way." Orochimaru took one step forwards, toward the east. And froze. Sakura froze too. Four presences were almost screaming from behind them.

"You have something we want, Orochimaru." Sakura's heart leaped at the sound of a familiar voice. Well, it was Hidan's, but it was still familiar. It meant rescue! She filled with glee at the sound of Orochimaru's low hiss in the back of his throat and a smile began to spread across her face. But it stopped abruptly when she met his eye. A wave of intense exhaustion and dizziness overwhelmed her.

"Sleep, my blossom. You're not going anywhere."

~*~

"I've been waiting so long to do this-" Hidan began to ran forwards towards the snake, but an arm thrust out in front of him, preventing him from running ahead. Hidan looked angrily up at Kisame.

"Hey! What's the deal?!"

Kisame nodded at Itachi, who had stepped in front of the two. The look on his face was something neither imagined they would see on the Uchiha's face. It was so furious, so blood-thirsty. It sent a chill down the two S-rank criminals spines.

"Alright." Hidan stood backwards and watched as Itachi strolled forwards, his eyes switching to the familiar red that indicated his Sharingan had been activated. They watched him walk slowly toward Orochimaru, but didn't notice the switch in Itachi's gaze. He had gone from Sharingan to Mangekyou.

_Sorry, Sakura, _he thought to himself, a small tear of blood trickling down his pale cheek as he walked toward the man in front of him. _I'm breaking your rules, but I do it in order to save you._

~*~

Itachi winced as he picked up the Sakura from the dirty, chilling floor and he stared down at her pained expression that rested on her face as she slept. He tried to ignore the lump that had formed in his throat and observed her for any major damages. Her rib was broken, but that seemed to be the worst of it.

"Hey, Uchiha." Itachi lifted his head to look at Hidan, who had called his name. Deidara laid in his arms, sleeping heavily.

"I found him in the lair. I guess his heroic rescue attempt failed." Hidan shook the blonde slightly for emphasis and Deidara responded by frowning, curling up slightly and raising a hand to grasp Hidan's cloak, snuggling in closer. Hidan hid a snort of laughter.

"He's really going to hate me when he wakes up."

Despite the grave situation, Itachi smirked a little. It was a little entertaining to see the man who he once believed as competition, sleeping like a child in Hidan's arms. His attention was refocused when Sakura shifted slightly, snuggling closer to his warm chest.

"Itachi…" She whispered, her tone like a child calling for it's parents. He felt a rush of guilt and anger at himself for having left her so long – it was clear she was hoping for him to rescue her. His face showed none of his emotions, yet Hidan seemed to understand what was going on inside his head.

"Your eyes gonna be okay?" Itachi looked up at Hidan, who sounded concerned about him. Itachi knew it was best not to mention that his vision was blurry. He nodded.

"Come on, man. Let's get back to HQ. This was a pretty successful battle." Hidan finialised his sentence by kicking a pale leg that had obviously once belonged to Orochimaru, along the road. As the four walked away, they failed to notice the grey-haired boy in the distance, deactivating the hostage jutsu that had once attached Sakura to him.

"Until we meet again, Sakura Haruno." He smiled to himself sadly and unmasked his chakra, before sprinting away from the battlefield, leaving a hooded corpse and the remains of his master behind.

~*~

She was a mess. Blood that was a mixture of hers and Orochimaru's stained her perfect, pale skin, purple bruises were beginning to form on her arms, her cheek was raw and reddened and the machine that had been placed on her stomach was still attached firmly to her. Itachi rested on the chair beside the bed she slept in, his head resting on the palm of his right hand. He had managed to heal her broken rib with difficulty and was waiting for Pain to research the piece of machinery that was clutched firmly to her.

The door opened behind him and Itachi lifted his head out of his palm, turning his head slightly to stare at the intruder. Kisame grinned apologetically at him.

"I know it's a bad time and everything, but you really need to see this." The shark's voice seemed to be filled with amusement. Itachi stared at him for a few moments, before rising out of the chair to follow the him, sending a glance behind him to look at Sakura once more before closing the door after him.

They approached the far side of the HQ quickly, which Itachi remembered as being the area in which all of the other members slept. As they began to loom closer towards the end, shouting seemed to echo quietly down the hallway.

Kisame seemed to be very badly hiding a smirk as he stopped at a door, his hand on the knob. He grinned at Itachi.

"Prepare yourself." He opened the door. The shouting seemed to become even louder now and Itachi peered around the corner, surprised at the scene he was seeing before him. Deidara had awoken from the jutsu that had been placed on him and seemed to be running around the room, laughing loudly as Hidan attempted to capture him.

"STOP BEING A FUCKING PAIN IN THE ASS." Hidan yelled at the blonde. Deidara jumped onto the table that sat in the center of his large room and stuck his tongue out immaturely at the silver-haired man.

"I will be an ass in the pain if I want to fucking be." He giggled. Itachi showed no emotion, but his eyes did widen. Deidara… giggling?

"He's been like this since he's woken up. It seems Orochimaru learnt the Mind-Sleep jutsu. It knocks you out with one stare, although the effects only last about an hour and you can only use it at 15 minute intervals." Kisame snorted as Deidara stumbled off of the table. "I guess it's S-rank because shinobi kept on killing themselves with it."

Itachi watched as Deidara attempted to get up off of the floor, laughing loudly as his limbs failed and he collapsed back onto the hard ground. Hidan watched, his eyebrow twitching with annoyance.

"Can we just knock him back out?" The silver-haired man grumbled, giving up on the blonde and heading over to Kisame and Itachi. The three watched as Deidara began to laugh hysterically.

"Is he injured?" Itachi asked. Hidan shook his head.

"The only thing that's gonna get injured is his pride, when he discovers what an idiot he'd been." An evil twinkling appeared in Hidan's eye. "Especially if we tweak the story a little."

Itachi held back a slight smirk and instead looked back down the hallway, toward his and Sakura's room. Hidan followed his gaze, confused, then he realized. He smiled and clapped Itachi on the shoulder.

"She should be waking up soon. Remember? 15-minute-intervals."

Itachi nodded and awaited no confirmation for his departure. He just headed back down the hallway towards the room.

"Uchiha!"

He turned back around to Hidan, who seemed to look a little worried.

"You won't go anywhere without telling us, right?"

Itachi stared silently at the man, not quite sure how to respond. But a crash from inside Deidara's room drew Hidan's attention away from Itachi and the Akatsuki member disappeared into the room, his yells echoing down the hallway. Itachi turned and gazed down at his wrist as he walked. He and Sakura were free now. There was no one else out there who knew the hostage jutsu – not that he knew of anyway. So the only way the Akatsuki could keep them prisoner was if they set the entire group on guard outside his and Sakura's room, which would only kill the purpose of having them prisoner in the first place.

He wasn't going to lie – the past two to three weeks had been eventful. At first, he would admit that he was little curious as to how the whole situation would fair. His life as an ANBU was miserable and involved nothing but worthless killing. If he received a mission to assassinate a young girl who was actually secretly a thief that stole millions, he would have no choice but to do it. But he knew that the majority of A-rank missions such as that could be a lie and a rich person could have simply had a grudge against that girl. It was something that he couldn't enquire into.

But with the Akatsuki – the S-rank bunch of criminals who each had a story behind why they had become missing-nin – he felt as though what they were doing was right. The missions they had been told to do seemed to be innocent enough and what's more, they received every ounce of information on their target. But that wasn't what he liked about it.

He liked the fact you had a choice.

Itachi arrived at the door of his room and lifted a hand to the door knob, stopping when a sound came from inside. He hurriedly opened the door and entered, freezing when a familiar figure turned around. Pain had the contraption that had once been attached to Sakura in his hands.

"Chakra absorber. It removes every ounce of chakra in your body and stores it inside, allowing the user to convert that energy so it can only be attuned to what they want done." Pain looked down at Sakura, who was still sleeping. Itachi followed his gaze and didn't notice when Pain switched his eyes back to him.

"She's been through a lot. If the scars and bruises aren't enough evidence for physical torture, the expression on her face shows that she went through even worse emotional torture." Pain showed no emotion and spoke no emotion through his tone, yet his instruction was clear: Take care of her.

Itachi nodded glumly, stepping aside as Pain strode quickly through the door, his cape flapping behind him. The Uchiha headed over to the empty chair that sat beside Sakura and was about to seat himself into it, when she stirred. Her eyes screwed shut tighter, before finally opening fully. Itachi was by her side in seconds.

"Sakura." He gripped her shoulders as she sat up, rubbing at her eyes. When she removed her hands away, her eyes that met his were unfocused and almost dizzy. He moved closer to her, staring at her intensely.

"Sakura. Are you alright?"

She giggled. This made Itachi go rigid and he released her shoulders and stood back up straight, keeping his gaze focused on her.

"Looks like she's got it too." A voice said from behind him. Itachi turned to Hidan and Kisame, who were standing in the doorway. Itachi nodded, switching his gaze away from the two shinobi to move his face close to Sakura's, activating his Sharingan so he could see whether or not her chakra was functional. He froze when a thin finger brushed from his brow down to his cheekbones.

"You have pretty eyes." The pink-haired kunoichi whispered, her face extremely serious, yet her voice slightly slurred. Despite this, Itachi still found himself focusing on her instead of the chakra. His lips twitched. He didn't notice Hidan nudge Kisame in the ribs, before abruptly leaving.

"Thank you." It was funny. The after-effect of the jutsu seemed to affect Sakura differently to Deidara. It must have depended on how they would react to whatever-it-was running through their body right now.

"You saved me..." Her voice was quieter, the slur had worsened and her eyes were beginning to droop. Itachi's eyes widened in worry and he checked her pulse. It was slowing down.

"Sakura." He warned, raising his hand to her cheek, brushing across it lightly with his thumb. No reaction.

"Sakura, stay with me." He lightly tightened his grip on her shoulder. She jolted back awake for a short moment to smile at him.

"I'm not going anywhe-" Her face contorted suddenly and she raised a hand to her mouth. She pushed Itachi out of the way and stood up to run away from the bed, but stumbled and ended up on all fours, throwing up blood. Itachi leapt forwards to lift her up into his arms as she began to fall asleep again. He seated her on the bed.

"No. Sakura, don't go to sleep." His voice was firm and he held her shoulders, bending down so he was at her level. She smiled weakly as her head continued to roll drowsily. Her breathing was still slowing down. Itachi grasped her hand and sent his chakra through her arm, which seemed to have a good effect. She jolted awake, staring at the arm in amazement.

"Use the chakra to heal where it hurts." He ordered her passively. Inside, he was worried. He was more than worried – he was agonizing about her. She couldn't die – not after they'd just saved her. Not now he'd-

She was doing it. She had sent green chakra to her hands and was running it down her arms, healing bruises and cuts, scratches and wounds. Her face winced when her hands reached her stomach, but her delicate skin was already getting back its original color and her pupils were returning back to the lively, jade color he had seen so many times before. He moved away so she could continue working on herself, but he watched her carefully. It was incredible – that even in a drugged state, she could heal herself as well as she had.

His stomach tightened when the chakra suddenly disappeared from her hands and she collapsed sideways onto the bed, her eyes tightly closed.

He strode forwards quickly, falling to his knees beside the bed to check her pulse. She was alive. Her pulse had returned to its normal state. She had passed out from chakra exhaustion.

He stared at her - a blank expression on his face - for several minutes, before bringing up his hand to brush her fuchsia hair back from her face, his crimson eyes analyzing her face carefully. It was then he realized that - although the Akatsuki had been the ones who had thrown the two of them into this mess - they had also brought them closer. And that was something he would always be in debt for, to the group of S-rank criminals he dared to now call comrades.

* * *

**A/N: Firstly, I apologise for the lack of action between the four Akatsuki and Orochimaru. But, I really didn't think there was much chance for Orochimaru anyway, so writing his death would just be a waste of time. Secondly, I apologise for the short length of this chapter. I just find that it's a lot easier to have these short chapters than having to try so hard just to hit the 5,000 word mark. Thirdly, this story still has a relatively long way to go, so don't worry about the next few chapters being the last ones. Cos they won't be. :)**

**I know Kabuto had lots of oppurtunities to free Sakura before, but I think I'll settle on saying that he was a confused kid who didn't know where his motives lay. That about sums up any questions that would be asked.**

**I think I'll update pretty quick too. I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter. :)**

**Review. It makes me happy and encourages me to keep writing this fanfic, instead of ditching it and writing my new one instead. D:**

**Thanks! ^_^**


	14. Goodbye

-

**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

_Aching head, heavy limbs, dehydration... I've exhausted my chakra. On what?_

Sakura slowly prised open her sticky eyes and winced as a bright light shone in through them. Where was she? She didn't remember anything before she and Orochimaru had left the hideout. Slowly, she pushed herself up so she was upright, wincing as stretched muscles pulled in her arms. She lifted an arm, raising it to shield her eyes from the light so she could observe her surroundings. A comfortable bed laid beneath her and the room she occupied was familiar. She gasped. She was back at the Akatsuki hideout! She had never been so happy to be back into the place she had once been prisoner.

Movement to her right alerted her and she turned quickly. A look of surprise crossed her face. Itachi was kneeling on the floor with his arms leaning on the bed, his head gently resting on them. He was fast asleep.

As quietly as she could, she left the bed and hurried into the bathroom. She had noticed the disgusting state she was in, covered in Orochimaru's blood and some of her own. To think she had slept with it on her... she shuddered. She quickly peeled the clothes from her, jumping into the shower and sighing in utter relief as the water hit her with force.

Itachi had fallen asleep beside her. Was he worried about her? Of course he would be. She had worried about him, and he wasn't the one that had been held captive by Orochimaru! After her long, luxurious shower, she jumped out to observe the bruises on her face. To her surprise, there was none. Had someone healed her?

She sent out healing chakra to her strained muscles all the same, sighing in relief as they relaxed and the pain disappeared. Shivering suddenly with the cold chill after having emerged from the shower, she scanned the white bathroom for a towel. She spotted one and wrapped it around her pale body, hoping Itachi was still asleep when she returned to the bedroom, so she could grab a t-shirt and change into it.

As quietly as she could, she opened the door and sent a cautious glance to the side of the bed, where Itachi had been sleeping. Crap. He wasn't there. She frowned, walking into the bedroom and closing the bathroom door behind her. Where was he?

Shrugging, she headed over to the drawers to grab a t-shirt. She found one and put it on, blushing after realising that it barely came half-way down her thighs. _Oh well, _she thought, raising a hand to close the drawer. But her eye caught on the black and red cloak that laid in it. They had been replaced – after Itachi and her had brutally chopped their last one up – and she had done nothing but ignore it. But now... she had nothing else to lose. It was only a scrap of clothing, after all.

She grasped the silky material, surprised at the high quality in the fabric. Slowly, she stretched her arm through one of the holes, almost sighing at the amazing feel it had on her skin. She could see why the Akatsuki never liked taking their cloaks off.

Once she had placed it on her, she headed over to the full-length mirror to observe her appearance. She almost choked at the sight.

The cloak fitted her perfectly. It looked faultless. Like it was supposed to belong on her. And that scared Sakura. That scared her a lot.

The door opened with a click and she turned to it, alarmed. Her heart began to strangely beat erratically at the person who opened it. Itachi was standing in the doorway. And he was wearing a cloak too.

Sakura snorted and smiled slightly at him. "Guess I couldn't help myself." She whispered, stroking her arm down her stomach as though to straighten the cloak out. Itachi followed her movement and his lips twitched in amusement. Then he brought his eyes back up to Sakura's and the smile faded.

The two stared at each other. Sakura bit her lip, attempting to hide back the huge grin that was threatening to emerge, but she couldn't. Her emotions were just about ready to explode.

She ran forwards and threw her arms around Itachi's neck, crying happy tears and burying her face into his neck. Itachi held her back tightly, lifting her up so she could be pressed even firmer to his chest. His eyes were closed and he relished in the embrace he had been waiting for.

"Thank you." Sakura sniffed and tightened her hold. Itachi tucked his nose into the crook of her neck, inhaling the scent he never thought he would be able to smell again. She was alive. She was breathing. She was by his side.

"No, Sakura. Thank _you." _

~*~

The stares Sakura got when she entered the dining room was embarrassing. Although most of the Akatsuki had departed to their rooms, Kisame, Hidan and Deidara still remained. And they were scanning every inch of her body, looking between her and Itachi almost curiously.

Hidan whistled. "You make a damn hot Akats-" He was interrupted after receiving a harsh slap to the back of the head from the blonde next to him, who had not taken his eyes off of Sakura for one moment. She smiled abashedly at him, before taking a seat.

"Wow. I'd never thought I'd see you wearing that." Deidara swallowed, still staring at Sakura. She shrugged one shoulder, throwing a stern glance in his direction.

"I'm wearing it for comfort, nothing more. It's the only damn clothes you'll give us, so I have to make do with it. It's this, or half-naked," She raised a finger in warning as Deidara's mouth opened. "And no, that is most definitely not going to happen."

Deidara closed his mouth and smiled genuinely at her. She smiled back and leant forward, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, idiot." She whispered to him. He played with her hair while they hugged and he pulled her closer.

"It was nothing, yeah." A wolf-whistle from Kisame made the two pull apart and Deidara sent a cautious look over to the Uchiha, who had been watching them. Surprisingly, he received no evil glare in response to the fondling of 'the Uchiha's girl'.

"I hear you caused a lot of trouble after the sedate wore off. Something about asking for Tobi's hand in marri-" Sakura grinned as Deidara's hand clamped over her mouth, his eyebrow twitching violently.

"Don't say another word, blossom." He pulled his hand away, revealing Sakura's wide grin. Hidan snickered from across the table, sending her a secretive look.

She sighed happily, leaning back in her chair and observing the Akatsuki around her. She enjoyed their company. A lot. More than she should, really, but she didn't care. Looking down at her wrist, a gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach made her smiling face droop. There was no chakra bracelet anymore – she had forgotten that. There was nothing to keep her and Itachi tied down. They could battle against the remaining members with full power and almost definitely win.

"You'll be leaving soon."

Sakura looked up at Deidara, who was staring sadly down at her wrist too. She swallowed and nodded, not quite able to trust her voice. She didn't know how many weeks she had been with the Akatsuki, but they had certainly made her life a lot more excitable. This dread in the pit of her stomach – the same feeling she got when she was dragged away from Itachi – she was feeling it now. She knew it was.

She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to go back to the village she had grown up in. Sure; she had friends. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi were her team and she grew up with them. But, she felt like she was needed in the Akatsuki. They had saved a worthless medic-nin from Orochimaru – who may have been strong enough to kill one of them. After only being with them for three weeks, she had come to realise that they were more of a family to her than anyone had ever been. Naruto and Sasuke were like brothers and Tsunade was like a mother, but they didn't fill the void like the Akatsuki did.

Her parents had died at the hands of Orochimaru and their deaths had been avenged by the Akatsuki. Would they be proud? Would they be proud of Sakura if she left the village they had sworn to protect, just so she could join what everyone thought to be a S-rank criminal gang?

A single tear fell down her cheek. No; they wouldn't be proud. And she knew that if she stayed any longer, it would just make it harder to leave.

"It's time to go, Sakura." Itachi had leant over behind her and whispered the one thing she was dreading to hear. She raised the back of her wrist to her eye so she could wipe away the tears that had formed there. The whole room had gone silent and she knew that all the eyes were on her and Itachi. She knew avoiding their eye contact would just make her feel bad, so she stood from her chair and looked at each of them in turn. Kisame; she hadn't known him long, but yet the downturn at the edges of his mouth were showing he wasn't exactly happy. Hidan; he looked utterly miserable and seemed to be cussing under his breath a lot, but she knew it was because he would miss Itachi as a partner. Deidara... he looked miserable. Worse than miserable – he looked absolutely shattered. Just the look on his face made yet another tear fall down her face.

"Blossom..." He choked. She couldn't believe it; Deidara - ferocious, arrogant, big-headed Deidara – had choked on his words. He didn't bother saying anything else. He just pulled her into a tight hug.

"Don't you ever – EVER – forget me, yeah?" He whispered into her ear as he brushed the back of her hair down, his voice quivering. Sakura screwed her eyes shut tighter, causing the unshed tears to fall down her face.

"I won't, idiot. I promise you, I won't." She gripped the back of his cloak tighter, resting the bridge of her nose against his shoulder.

Sakura moved to pull away, but Deidara pulled her back into him. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Beauty is fleeting." He grinned sadly at her after he drew back and Sakura let out a small laugh, her eyes beginning to swell from her tears. Deidara brushed one away, his smile fading from his face and the hurt returning. He moved his hand away from her face and dragged his eyes away from her, indicating for them to leave. Sakura kept her stare on him until she had no choice but to move through the dining room door, following Itachi.

They walked in silence towards the exit.

"It's not fair." Sakura whispered. Itachi continued to walk beside her. She looked up at him, her brow furrowed and tears still shining in her eyes.

"Politics, war, fighting, poverty. It's all because of us shinobi, you know? And amongst all that, Akatsuki have been given a wrong impression. We could clear their name! We could-"

"I don't want you doing that."

Pain emerged from the dark entrance of the hideout. Itachi stiffened, obviously preparing in case Pain engaged an attack. The orange-haired ninja just smiled slightly.

"I don't plan to attack you. I could defeat you both, but that's not why I captured you. The Akatsuki still need you, so if you ever reconsider..." Pain observed them intensely. "If not, I am trusting that you will not reveal the whereabouts of where this hideout is. I'm afraid that if it is discovered, you will be the first two I will order the members to eliminate and that is one thing I know neither of you wish to see." Sakura winced, trying to imagine Deidara attempting to kill her. She knew that he was more loyal to the group than he would probably be to her, so it was an image that she knew would come true.

"We don't wish to reveal the location of your hideout. However, if we do not leave swiftly, our chakra signatures will reveal where we are and that will result in a catastrophic situation."

Sakura looked up in surprise at Itachi. So THAT was why he had wanted them to leave so suddenly. They couldn't hide their chakra signatures as – just like her and Itachi – they were so attuned to each other that they could detect the chakra, even when suppressed. Naruto or Sasuke would find them in minutes.

Pain nodded, moving aside for them and gesturing toward the door, his face as solemn as ever.

"You have been a great help to the Akatsuki, even if I did not get as much use out of you as I had originally planned." His gaze switched to Sakura's. "But I understand that sacrifices are needed in order to protect ones close to you."

Before Sakura could respond in surprise to this, Pain vanished into the darkness. Had Pain just personally told her that HE had also been prepared to save her, despite what the others may have thought? She shook her head as she and Itachi left the building. A few weeks it had taken to get to know the Akatsuki and just thinking about how different their motives were to what everyone thought – it was enough to make her head scream in agony.

"We are not far from the Leaf Village – it should be a day and a half's trip at the most." Itachi explained, looking down at Sakura. He knew they were still in the Akatsuki cloaks, but there was really no other option but to wear them. Tearing them apart and infusing them with chakra would waste their energy that they needed for the trip.

"We're going to get killed for wearing these." Sakura said, a little less life in her voice than usual. Itachi stared at her for a few moments, before replying.

"You are more than welcome to take yours off. However, I think it may be difficult to fend off the men that will undoubtedly attempt to kidnap you from me." He smirked slightly at her and her light laughter was like music to his ears. She tightened the string around her waist and looked up Itachi, smiling at the attempt he had made to cheer her up.

"I think it'll be better if I keep it on."

~*~

It was twenty minutes into their trip that they heard it. An explosion, from way far behind them.

"What was that?" Sakura asked cautiously, turning around to observe the sky behind them. Smoke came up from the distance. Itachi turned too and narrowed his eyes, activating his Sharingan into the depths of the woods behind him. Sakura looked at him in surprise when he cursed under his breath. It was something Itachi did rarely.

Suddenly, he started running. Running as fast as he could, back the way they had just walked from. Sakura stared after him in shock, before chasing after him.

"ITACHI! What is it? What the hell is wrong?" She asked as they ran. Itachi shook his head, indicating that there was no time to explain. Sakura's chest had clenched itself around her heart. Why were they running back to the Akatsuki? Her eyes widened as she spotted something in the distance. And why was there a huge wave that looked almost completely identical to the Water Release: Water Shark Missile technique that she had once seen Kakashi demonstrate for them, now looming just over where the Akatsuki headquarters used to be?

She swallowed and turned her head back to Itachi, knowing from the direction his eyes were in that he was looking at exactly the same thing.

"There's trouble, isn't there?" She asked him, her throat tightening. He looked at her once and nodded, before turning his head back to face the front. Sakura swallowed again, keeping down the lump that had emerged in her throat. Either the Akatsuki were in trouble, or they were fighting amongst themselves. Konoha shinobi couldn't be fighting with them, could they? She would have been able to feel their chakra signatures!

She almost stumbled. Come to think of it, she couldn't feel anyone's chakra signatures. Not even Itachi's and he was the one she was most attuned to. This would have made her blush, if she hadn't been so scared at the possible situations that awaited her.

There was another explosion. This time, it was so close that the ground beneath Sakura shook and she knew, that just through the cloud of dust and smoke that had arisen just metres in front of her, the questions she was asking herself would be answered.

"WE KNOW YOU HAVE THEM HERE, NOW GIVE THEM TO US OR I'LL-" As Sakura emerged from the shroud of dirt and dust, Itachi by her side, the little blonde boy's loud shouting halted. Sakura's eyes scanned the current situation.

Naruto and Sasuke. They were standing just centimeters away from her. Not only that, but the all of her old Genin teammates were with them, including Kakashi. Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, Tobi and Hidan were outside the HQ, in attack positions. They were staring at her too.

"Brother?" Sasuke was the first to speak. Sakura hurriedly looked up at Itachi and she noticed with surprise that not even a look of happiness spread across his face. In fact, he actually looked rather unpleased.

"Sakura? W-What are you wearing?" Naruto stuttered, turning his back on the Akatsuki to look at her. She glanced at the twelve pairs of eyes staring at her, finishing with Itachi. He was looking at her, speaking through his eyes. She knew what she had to do. She looked back at Naruto.

"Go home, Naruto."

The blonde's eyes' widened and he took a step forwards, placing his hands on her shoulders. She forced herself to go rigid and not meet his eyes. She knew the Akatsuki were strong – they were incredibly strong. But they had morals. They were not entitled to kill unless their association was put under jeopardy and the group of ex-genin standing outside their Headquarters was not putting it in jeopardy. She figured that was why Pain and Konan had decided to not join in with the fight. The shinobi who had obviously come to save her and Itachi were ruthless when it came to the S-rank criminals who were now facing opposite them.

Naruto tried to catch Sakura's eyes, but she didn't allow him to.

"Are you okay, Sakura? Have they placed you under a genjutsu? Have they tortured you? Do you remember who I am? Have you-"

"NARUTO." She yelled, snapping her eyes up to his. He jumped, alarmed at the anger in her voice. Sasuke's eyes had widened, as did the majority of the genin. Never – NEVER – had they seen her look so angry with her yellow-haired friend.

"Listen to me; the Akatsuki are not who you think they are. Killing them now wouldn't make the situation any different. Me and Itachi are free and that's all that matters. So go." Sakura – who wouldn't meet his eyes before – now kept her gaze strong and unwavering. Naruto frowned in confusion.

"They captured you Sakura. They're S-Rank criminals." Naruto lifted an arm to point at Deidara. "He said he ENJOYED your company Sakura! He said you were best FRIENDS! How could I let him get away with that? He was rubbing in my face that he'd captured you and I'll kill the bastard for-" He yelped as Sakura lunged forwards and punched him square across the jaw, sending him across the dusty ground. Hinata and Tenten rushed to his side, looking up at Sakura in shock. The surprising anger that she felt towards Naruto rushed through her and she stepped forwards, ready to hit him again. Kakashi was behind her in seconds, holding her arms behind her back roughly to prevent her from moving. She hissed and winced, struggling away.

"What is wrong with you, Sakura?" Kakashi's voice was laden with concern and confusion, but before she could reply he was thrown off of her back by Itachi, his Sharingan reactivated and staring furiously into Kakashi's surprised eye.

"Brother? What in the world is going on?" Sasuke stepped forwards and Itachi became almost predator like, protecting Sakura from anyone. Naruto was sitting up, rubbing at his face with the back of his hand and staring at Sakura like she was a completely different person.

Sakura didn't know what she felt. Her own ex-genin teammates seemed like the real enemies to her now and she hated herself for thinking that. Why had she reacted so harshly to Naruto after calling Deidara such a petty name? Why did she have the urge to run back to Deidara and cling to him, declaring she'd never leave his side again?

The life she had embraced in the last few weeks had taken its toll on her and she knew, now, that Akatsuki was a drug. And she was hooked.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Alright, there's probably quite a few mistakes in this. Just ignore them, because I'll proof this asap and correct them all. It's just, it's half 9 and I should be going to sleep now. I just felt like I needed to put this up first.**

**I'm not even going to talk about what I wrote this time. Just tell me if you think anyone was OOC, or whether there was any (breathe in) LOOPHOLES. LOLOL.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know I said this wasn't coming close to an end, but my chapter plan went out the window a little, so I'm not sure how long there is to go. **

**If you're a DeiSaku fan, check out my newest one-shot for them: Skittles! I would appreciate it very, very much. **

**Review! It keeps me going, makes me update quicker and gives me the will to continue the story. :)**


	15. Sacrifice

-

**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

Naruto stumbled to his feet, pushing Hinata and Tenten away from him. He kept his eyes on Sakura and Itachi, awaiting the answer to the question that Sasuke had asked. Itachi stared at his little brother coldly, his cheekbone throbbing with what seemed to be frustration. Sakura knew they were caught out. They were stuck in the middle of two teams who should not really need any consideration when it came to choosing sides. She and Itachi had a choice between the team whose aims and dreams were similar to that of their own. The team that made them feel _needed._ Or they could choose the team who they had grown-up with – where they thought their true friends really were. But Konoha didn't sent shinobi out in order to receive justice in the world, did they? They sent them out to defend the country they were supposed to be loyal to. They sent them out to kill a countless amount of people, no matter what the crime. As long as they were getting money, it didn't bother them.

Sakura shook herself. Of course that wasn't the case. Her teacher – Lady Tsunade – wouldn't have taken the Hokage position in order to receive payment and power. She must have wanted justice. Some strange, twisted sort of justice.

"Sakura and I have made an agreement with the Akatsuki and we do not wish to discuss the matter. The simple fact that we are free should be enough to satisfy you." Itachi looked around at all of the ex-genin, not just Sasuke. A few of them seemed intimidated by his words and simply nodded in agreement, whereas the others – who had came a long way in order to fight – scowled.

"I didn't come all this way to save your sorry asses, only to be told to keep my hands off of these Akatsuki shit-heads-" Kiba received a smack to the face. There was commotion for a moment as some of the ex-genin scrabbled around to hold Sakura back, preventing her from causing anymore damage to the brown-haired boy on the floor. He laid on the ground – just like Naruto had – and looked up at Sakura in surprise.

"I don't think it was just an agreement they made." Kakashi was standing in the center of the battlefield, looking between the Akatsuki and the Konoha shinobi. The barely-hidden irritation on Deidara's face at Sakura's harsh restrain was enough for Kakashi to know that the blonde was not an enemy to her.

As Sakura calmed down and was slowly released, she looked at Kakashi with a passive expression. Kakashi would have been amused at the fact that the expression was exactly the same as the one Itachi held, if it weren't for the obvious guilt in her eyes that proved his statement.

"As Itachi said, we're free. There's no point in fighting now." Sakura raised her voice to all of the shinobi, glaring hard at Kiba who had groaned in annoyance. The Akatsuki were watching the scene in both amusement and cautiousness. At least they knew that Itachi and Sakura were being loyal to them.

Sakura turned her eyes back to Kakashi – who was obviously the team leader and was therefore responsible for the decisions made. The silver-haired jonin stared back and Sakura knew that he was weighing up their options. Run away, allowing several S-rank missing-nin to live and roam free – which wouldn't matter because Sakura and Itachi were free. Or; finish the criminals off while they were together, meaning that as well as rescuing both of the hostages, they were also ridding of the majority of the biggest criminal organization in the world.

Sakura gulped. Kakashi was her team leader. She knew what he would choose.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." He raised his hand up to his headband and lifted it, revealing his Sharingan, which swirled viciously. Terror rushed through her as the shinobi ran forwards to attack.

"NO!" She shouted, starting to run toward them. Two arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her backwards, causing her to collide with a warm chest. She felt breath by her ear.

"Sakura, if you were to run into that fight and begin to attack your own teammates, you will be forced out of Konoha on the act of treason and fraternizing with the enemy." It was Itachi that was holding her and she raised both her hands up to his arms to gently rest them on there. She didn't like the way his voice sounded.

"There is nothing left for me in Konoha. Sasuke is old enough to take care of himself and does not need a brother in order to live right. You have your teammates, friends and patients that need to be taken care of." He released her slowly. Itachi turned her around, grasping her shoulders with both of his hands. His face was still emotionless and his eyes bled into hers. Sakura stared at him for a few moments, before catching onto what he was saying.

"You can't be serious." She whispered quietly. She wasn't disgusted at the fact that he was suggesting that he was about to abandon his village. It was the fact that he was telling her to go back to Konoha, while allowing him to stay with the Akatsuki. And he was prepared to fight against the people who were in awe of him.

An explosion behind them brought Sakura's mind back to reality, the clinking of kunai in the distance irritating her to no ends. There was no time to think. She wasn't going to let the Akatsuki die, but didn't want her friends to die either.

Her head hurt. What was she going to do?

"Itachi, I'm not going to let you abandon the village and leave me there alone. I have friends, teammates and patients to take care of, but none of them are family." She stepped backwards, allowing his hands to drop from her shoulders. "Naruto has Sasuke. The patients have other nurses. My teammates have grown-up. None of them need me." She turned around to look over at the Akatsuki, who were fending off at least 3 shinobi each. "They need me."

Itachi followed her gaze and then quickly returned it to Sakura. She felt his stare and turned to look back steadily, although feeling very uncomfortable with the emotion that shone in his eyes. His lips twitched.

"You're stubborn. That may very well be your downfall." He sounded slightly amused, despite the grave situation. Sakura scoffed and blinked at him. He kept doing unexpected things at the most unfortunate times. Like that night in the lodge… She shook her head mentally, hating the fact that an unexpected blush had formed on her cheeks.

A familiar sound in the distance brought her attention away from the Uchiha and onto Naruto, who had formed his Rasengan in one of his hands using a Shadow Clone. She looked at his target and her eyes widened. Deidara.

Chakra went charging down her arm and formed into her hand, so strong that the blue chakra that would usually show in her chakra-infused fist became almost purple. A few heads turned her way, the strength of it catching their attention.

As hard as she could, she punched the ground, splitting the battlefield in half as she cut Naruto's route off. The Rasengan fizzled out as he tried to catch his balance, preventing himself from falling into the large split. The bottom of it was not even visible; she had cut it that deep.

Some of the Konoha shinobi stumbled and pulled themselves backwards to prevent themselves falling down it, wobbling as the moving earth shook their feet. When the ground had stopped moving, all eyes turned to her. She frowned, lifting her arm up so her fist was raised. She placed her other hand on her bicep and stretched her hand, clicking the bones.

"Sakura?" Naruto's face looked almost annoyed with her, instead of confused. She frowned back at the jinchuuriki and lowered her arm, before sprinting towards the split that she had just made. The shinobi moved out of her way as she leaped over the crack, landing on the other side beside Kisame.

Kakashi frowned at her. "Sakura, do you know what you're doing?"

Everyone jumped as black crows flocked in next to her, forming Itachi. She seemed surprised that he had appeared next to her and he smirked at her expression. A shock ran up her arm as the Uchiha grasped her hand and entwined her fingers with his, turning his attention back to the shinobi in front of him.

"We've seen what Akatsuki can do and it's too great for it to be a lie. If we need to resort to being missing-nin in order to protect these people who know the true meaning of justice, then so be it. Kill us too." Sakura was surprised at the words that left her mouth in a shaky, wavering voice. If, several weeks ago, someone had told her that she would be giving up her headband in order to join the Akatsuki, she would have laughed and probably punched the person for being so stupid. But she was doing it. She was facing down her own teammates.

She watched Kakashi lean over and whisper into Naruto's ear, keeping his eyes focused on Sakura and Itachi. She was too far away to hear what he was saying, but whatever it was that he had said had made Naruto's tense, frightened expression disappear. She frowned. That was worrying.

"Brother…" Everyone's attention was now brought back to Sasuke, who was gritting his teeth angrily. His face was showing raw, agonizing fury. It was enough to send a chill down even Hidan's spine.

"You can't do this." Sasuke hissed, stepped forwards and being careful to avoid the split. Itachi stared back at his little brother, frowning hard at the chakra that seemed to be fizzling around him.

"You're going to leave me, after you promised you'd come back? You'd leave you own little brother so you can run off with a bunch of S-rank criminals." His eyes were hidden by a dark shadow and his shoulders were beginning to tremble violently. Whether it was with pain or anger, Sakura didn't know. But she had never seen Sasuke so riled – so… pathetic.

"I should be important to you – not this bunch of missing-nin." Sasuke lifted his head up and his eyes were filled with angry tears. "Have you forgotten what mother and father did for us? They DIED, Itachi. They died so we could carry on our lives. And you're just going to throw yours away?"

Itachi's lips thinned. "What were fathers last words, little brother?"

Sasuke's eyes widened and his mouth opened once or twice a few times before closing. The chakra around his continued to dance angrily.

"Sasuke…" Kakashi warned. Sasuke ignored the jonin and dropped his head down to his chest, his shoulders still shaking. Itachi raised his voice a little, surprising Sakura.

"What were they, Sasuke?"

" 'Fight for what you believe in. Do it, and worry about the consequences later. It doesn't matter what it is – doesn't matter who it's for. As long as you feel it's right, that's all that matters. Don't waste your life by regretting having chosen the other option.' " Sasuke yelled the words at his brother, the angry tears finally falling down his face. The younger Uchiha clutched his arm, a familiar blue tinge forming in the air.

Sakura was distracted. She didn't notice the commotion that Sasuke was causing as Deidara had unlatched her and Itachi's hands and then dragged her to the back of the group of Akatsuki. He pulled her into an unexpected hug, clutching her almost too tight for her to breathe.

"Get off, idiot. You're hurting me." She laughed into his cloak and moved her arms so they could push her away from his chest slightly. He grinned down at her.

"I knew you'd come back, yeah. We were meant to be together."

Sakura smiled sadly at him. "We might not survive this fight together, you know. I'm not sure my teammates are the sort to back down easily."

Deidara placed his hands on her shoulders and bent down lower to her level. "I don't die easily and I'm pretty sure you don't either. I guess we're both invincible-" He stood up suddenly, his frightened gaze staring into the distance. She couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel the immense, angry chakra that Sasuke was forming into his right hand. The sedate had messed with her senses.

She hurried forwards, just in time to see Sasuke leap over the crack and lunge for his older brother.

"Sasuke no!" It all happened in slow motion. Everything was erased from Sakura's mind as she leaped across the war ground, her arm outstretched. She didn't have time to think and form a plan. Pushing Itachi out of the way was not an option. There was no way Itachi could escape from the chidori, not as the close range Sasuke had charged it from.

_I don't have anything to live for. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Tsunade... they were the closest thing to a family had, until I met the Akatsuki. The Akatsuki don't need me. I can only heal. Itachi has the Sharingan – he can help them with their goals. I can't let him die. _Sakura threw herself forwards in front of Itachi and just registered the panic in Sasuke's eyes before a huge explosion sent a wave of extreme pain along her side.

It took a few seconds for her to blink away her dizziness and she found herself on the floor. Her vision was blurred and her left arm stung painfully, but when she looked down to view her stomach, there was no hole. Hurriedly, she looked up at the scene that stretched before her.

Itachi was fine – no scratches, not even a burn. He was frozen in position, unable to move as threads of chakra held his feet in place. That was why he hadn't dodged. Sasuke was looking up with an expression of horror on his face, his arm still outstretched but no longer glowing that dreadful blue.

And in between the two brothers, stood Deidara. He was smiling, despite the huge, gaping hole in his stomach that was dripping immense amounts of blood. Sasuke moved backwards, allowing Deidara to collapse to the floor.

"NO!" Sakura screamed, hurriedly scrambling to her feet and ignoring any pain that protested against her movements. She threw herself to the floor beside Deidara, flipping him over so she could view his face. He looked up at her with eyes that barely held much life, one hand resting on his stomach and two trails of blood trickling down his chin. His face was scratched and his eyebrow was bleeding into one of his eyes. Sakura sobbed at the sight of him, smoothing down his dirty blonde hair. She was unaware that the eyes of her old teammates were watching everything.

"Dei, stay with me. Come on idiot, you can't die on me." Sakura wiped her tears away furiously, placing her weak hands over the hole and urging her empty chakra to heal him. She had used most of it to form the split, not to mention she was still recovering from chakra exhaustion. Her hands grew green before fizzling out and dying. She didn't even have enough chakra to stop the blood flow.

"Hey blossom. Did I ever say I think you're even more beautiful when you're crying?" Sakura let out a short laugh, more tears falling from her hurting eyes. She moved her hands away from his stomach to look into his eyes. He was still smiling his cheeky smile and his eyes seemed to look a lot more alive than he probably felt. Sakura raised a hand and delicately caressed his swollen lip, healing it with all she had left.

"You still need to beat me at 31's. Me, you and Itachi promised we'd have another round. If you die now, it'll count as a forfeit," Sakura joked in her hoarse voice, smiling at him before looking back down at his wound. Deidara chuckled and winced as his hand shifted.

"I guess I forfeit."

Sakura lifted her gaze quickly to Deidara's eyes, worry spreading across her face. She leant forward and started to move his hair away from his face again, cupping his face with her hands.

"No. You don't forfeit. Deidara never gives up. You said we're invincible. That you don't die easily." She ordered almost hysterically, her eyes blurred with tears she didn't want to cry.

"I can't play 31's with a hole in my stomach. You would accuse me of hiding cards in there." He chuckled again, but this time with a little less life. Sakura shook her head, allowing her unshed tears to drop onto his scarred face.

"Don't go, idiot. Don't go." She rested her forehead against his and watched as his eyes began to flicker, his life dropping immensely. Sakura felt his hand tucking a pink strand of hair behind her ear and Deidara smiled.

"Who would have thought I'd die sacrificing myself for a girl? The world is full of surprises." He let his hand cup Sakura's cheek, ignoring her horrified expression with the knowledge that he had just told her he was going to die.

"I'll miss you, blossom. You've been a blast..." His last words trailed off and he let his eyes flutter close. Sakura rested her forehead against Deidara's again, screwing her eyes shut as her tears fell from her eyes directly onto Deidara's.

"Idiot." She whispered, before allowing all the grief to seep out of her. Her loud sobs echoed around the battle field and both Akatsuki and Leaf ninja wore expressions of sympathy and equal grief. For they all knew what it was like to lose a comrade in battle, but couldn't think of what it was like to lose trust, friendship and dedication in one fatal blow.

Sakura didn't know how long it was she was crying for. She knew that she was being watched, but she didn't care. When her tears had run dry, she stood up slowly, her left arm throbbing with the burns, her eyes hidden by her lank, pink hair and her legs wobbling unsteadily. A gloved hand clutched her arm.

"Sakura, be care-" Her movement was fast. She lifted a leg perfectly and kicked Kakashi in the stomach, sending him backwards at a rapid speed, causing his back to come into hard impact with a tree that rested 50 feet away.

"Don't touch me." She growled. Her voice no longer sounded as though it was her own. It was scaring even her. Naruto rushed forwards.

"Sakura, you have to calm down! It's just in your head! It's a side effect of mental torture that's making you think you're on the bad side. Just let us take you home and we'll-" It seemed she wasn't allowing any of her former teammates to complete their sentences. She threw Naruto to the floor and flung herself on top of him, pushing his arms down with her own. His eyes met hers and immediately his face softened. She knew what she looked like.

All the emotions she had been told to hold in due to the shinobi rule, came out. Pain, fright, anger, frustration, agony and confusion.

"I don't know what to do anymore Naruto. I feel like I don't know any of you." A single tear dropped from her eye and fell onto Naruto's cheek, trickling slowly down the side of his face. "I think I love them, Naruto." Sakura snorted and dragged her gaze away from his to lift her head up so she could stare into the distance at the Akatsuki. She brought her eyes back to his. "After only a couple of weeks, I think I love the infamous group of S-rank criminals more than I love Konoha."

Suddenly her face became grave and her fingers dug painfully into Naruto's shoulders. He winced. "And the second most amazing person I've ever met has just sacrificed his life so I can live, Naruto." She got off of Naruto and grasped his collar, pulling him off of the floor so his face was level with hers. "HOW CAN YOU WANT TO KILL THESE PEOPLE? THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SAVED MY LIFE _TWICE._" She threw him away from her and turned away, wiping her tears away furiously with her arm. She lowered her arm and walked over to Sasuke, who was staring down at his blood-covered hand. She wrapped a slender hand around his neck, ignoring the protests from the shinobi around her.

"Raise that hand." She swung her head into the direction of his right hand. The one coated in blood. Sasuke did as he was told, his expression passive but his eyes wide in confusion. She grabbed his wrist with her free hand and ignored Deidara's blood as it trickled along her thumb. Then she placed a kunai into Sasuke's hand and forced him to clasp it. In one, swift movement, she slashed it across her forehead protector. She released Sasuke and raised one of her own hands to now brush her finger along the split that separated her Konoha symbol.

Naruto's expression was heart-clenching. Hinata began sobbing in the distance; Chouji had stopped eating his crisps, now looking at them as though he wasn't hungry; Ino wiped away unshed tears and Sasuke... Sasuke wouldn't remove his gaze away from his hand that was coated in Deidara's blood.

Sakura lifted her head and met Itachi's crimson eyes. He had been freed from the chakra threads and was now staring at Sakura in a way she had never seen before. He disappeared suddenly and reappeared in front of her. It didn't startle her. She lifted her head up to stare at him.

"Sakura." He started. Slowly, he lifted a hand to brush away a tear that had fallen down her cheek, then he used the same hand to brush her hair away from her face. She looked at him, knowing that he was showing affection. There was no time left to register when hot, silky lips were slammed down onto hers, rendering her unstable. Her face had been cupped with two, warm hands and her head was tilted upwards towards the lips. It was the most mind-blowing kiss she had ever been given.

As quick as it had begun it was over. Her eyes fluttered open, still dazed from the kiss and her gaze refocused on Itachi. His lips were still brushing against hers ever-so-slightly and Sakura noticed that her eyes were swelling with unexpected tears.

He had kissed her. Itachi Uchiha had kissed her. He had kissed her as though saying goodbye. And she knew why the moment she met his eyes. The black pupil swirled and immediately her mind became fogged.

"Don't look for me." Was the last thing she heard in her ear, before she collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Woo, I'm on a roll this month. Guess this is getting too exciting for me to leave for too long.**

**Won't comment on anything in the story. I had half of this chapter written about 4 months ago, so yeah. That's why this didn't take long.**

**Bit cliche, I know. Can't be helped.**

**Deidara is dead. Don't hurt me. The story's not over yet. Save the flaming about that for the end. LOLOL.**

**Man, Sakura was proper OOC in this, I thought. I dunno. I still think beating the crap out of your best friend after a couple weeks with the Akatsuki is a bit much. But hey, I'd do it.**

**I haven't proof read this. It's like, quarter to 3 in the morning. I'll do it tomorrow. Haha.**

**Hope you enjoyed it and if it left you a little depressed, read one of my one-shots or something. I've just written a DeiSaku one called Skittles. I guess it's alright. (:**

**Review, it keeps me writing!**


	16. Konoha

-

**Rainflakes**

_'Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

_-_

She knew - even before she opened her eyes - where she was. That black pupil that had sent her to sleep wouldn't leave her mind. With her eyes closed, she could still picture it, swirling around almost tauntingly.

She was going to kill him.

She opened her eyes and ignored the blinding light that stung her eyelids. As hurriedly as she could, she observed her surroundings. She had been placed in a holding cell.

The door opened and her head instantly turned to see who was walking in. Tsunade's face was unreadable, but she didn't take her eyes off of the kunoichi in front of her. Sakura was pale and the deadpan eyes she had once occupied were now filled with life. But Tsunade knew it wouldn't be long before that life would fade out.

"Sakura." Sakura winced at the rather stern tone in her teacher's voice. But Sakura could care less. She had been brought back to Konoha and away from the Akatsuki. The moment she thought of the Akatsuki, her chest constricted angrily and she gasped, bringing a hand up quickly to clutch where her heart was. Tsunade hurried forwards.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" Sakura ignored her teacher's questions and stayed slumped over with her hand clasping her chest, until the pain finally faded. After letting out a long breath, Sakura sat back up.

_Well, apart from the fact I'm in a holding cell, a friend that was almost like a brother to me just died, Itachi Uchiha kissed me and then handed me over to you and I withstood several weeks of torture at the hands of my parents murderer? Yeah, apart from that, I'm fine._ Sakura snorted, knowing full well that if she were to say that to her teacher, she would be answered with nothing but silence.

It was then she noticed that the Hokage had gone silent. Sakura looked up at her teachers face and swallowed the lump that had developed in her throat.

"I said that aloud, didn't I?" Sakura whispered. Tsunade nodded, covering her mouth with one of her hands in... guilt? Shock? Surprise? Sakura looked back down at the white blanket she was resting under and clenched it with her weak fist, cursing under her breath. Great. She must have inherited saying what she thought, from Deidara.

Her chest constricted again, causing her to cough and bring her hand up to it, tightening the hold on her top. Tsunade stepped forwards, resting one of her hands gently on Sakura's arm in empathy. Sakura ignored it.

"Eighteen years you've been here, Sakura. A month you were with them. Please, tell me that you didn't voluntarily choose the Akatsuki over us."

Sakura's tightened the grip on her chest even more, wincing horribly. "Don't say their name." She almost hissed. Then she looked back at her teacher, who had recoiled. Sakura's expression changed from angry to almost sad.

"I'm sorry." Sakura looked back away from her teacher to stare at the blank, grey wall to the right of her bed. "As you probably know - after my little outburst - I've been through quite a lot, Lady Hokage. I'd prefer it if I was left alone for a while."

Sakura waited for the presence beside her to disappear. After hearing the woman's footsteps fade away into the distance, the lock turning in the door and the hum of a chakra shield ring in her ears, Sakura Haruno placed her head in her hands and wondered what the hell she had to live for.

~*~

Three weeks. They had kept her in the holding cell for three weeks, allowing the life and energy that Sakura once had to completely drain out of her eyes. If she wasn't so furious with him, she would have said she had been in there to allow her to undergo 'Itachi Uchiha' therapy. Leaving a shinobi in a room with nothing but their thoughts for company was one sure way to kill their emotions.

Sakura walked down the street, her hair flowing freely without her Konoha headband. It had been removed and placed in the Hokage's drawer and Sakura knew that she wouldn't receive a new one until they were sure she could be trusted. Hell; she was lucky enough to have even been released at all.

Eyes followed her. Wherever she went, their gazes were scrutinising her. They observed her lack of headband, the bags under her eyes, the pale tone her skin had taken. And her outfit difference.

She had added black to her usually-red outfit. She sported a black top that looked awfully similar to the one that the Sasuke used to wander around in when he was thirteen and her shorts were black, with large red swirls on both sides of the leg.

The Akatsuki cloak that she had been wearing before she was dragged back to Konoha had been confiscated by the Hokage, placed in a glass cabinet somewhere in the Hokage's tower. Not that it mattered – Sasuke's chidori had almost torn it to pieces when the blast had the caught the side of her. It was like nothing had ever happened before her kidnapping. The only thing that signified her change was the clothing... and the leather strap that never left her wrist.

Subconsciously, she moved her hand to twist it. She had won it, all those weeks ago, from Itachi. While playing the game of cards, he had given it to her and she had found that it had never left her wrist since. Not even Orochimaru had removed it from her. No blast had ripped it from her wrist. No branch had caught on it and tore it off. It was like it didn't want to leave her.

"Mummy! That's the girl! The one brother was talking about!" A little kid tugged at his mother's clothing, whilst keeping his eyes on Sakura the whole time. Sakura ignored him, only glancing at the boy's mother as she turned to stare also. The pair both had black hair and black eyes – obviously Uchiha's.

She slowed as she approached a familiar spot. Ichiraku's Ramen shop was standing to her right and sitting in it was Naruto.

So she lied. The other thing that that had changed since she had come back was that, now, she no longer talked to anyone. Surprisingly, many of her ex-genin teammates had attempted to comfort her, approach her and regain her friendship again. They seemed to understand her, even though her story hadn't been told yet.

And, just like every other day, as she passed Naruto, she heard him call her name.

Her footsteps halted and she considered her options. Talking to Naruto again would mean that she would have to talk to everyone. So she could either; walk on and continue to push them away, allowing her to carry on wallowing in her memories, or embrace them again and pretend that the last few months never happened. Her chest threatened to constrict.

No – she couldn't forget. Ever.

She continued to walk, ignoring Naruto calling from behind her. Why should she talk to him anyway? He was an idiot. A knuckle-head. Not her friend.

She jumped when hands turned her around forcefully and her jade eyes clashed with blue. They weren't the same blue that Deidara's had once been – these one's were more determined. More angry.

"When are you going to snap out of it, Sakura?" She had every right mind to push Naruto's hands away from her shoulders. Or punch him in that angry, impatient face of his. But she found that she couldn't.

"You can't just let your life go. Shinobi's have fought battles worse than yours and lost more!" Naruto stirred her shoulders a little. "When are you going to stop self-pitying yourself?!"

Sakura shook his arms off of her shoulders, pushing them away with her hands. She frowned at him.

"Sasuke dies. Hinata kisses you and then runs away, never to see you again. Iruka and Jiraya are killed and the murderer captures you, torturing you until you can barely think straight. And at the end of all that, the people you thought were your friends force you out of Konoha – out of your DREAMS – and you are never allowed to return! Tell me, Naruto: Would you feel sorry for all the other shinobi out there, if that happened to you?!" Sakura's voice quivered and she hadn't realised that her voice had become raised. People had stopped to stare at the commotion happening in front of them.

Naruto's face was unreadable. So many emotions where flitting across it, it was hard to tell just what he was feeling. Sakura was breathing heavily and the angry expression that had spread across her face began to collapse into a sad one.

"It's taken me three weeks, just to accept what's happened to me. In those three weeks, the only thing I could think about was what I'd done wrong. My parents and best friend are dead. I was handed over by the person I lo-" Her voice caught in her throat. No; she wasn't ready to use that four-letter word while thinking of _him._

She took a deep breath. "This isn't self-pity I'm wallowing in. It's confusion." She stepped forwards suddenly and pulled Naruto into a tight hug, her eyes swelling with emotion as she inhaled his familiar ramen scent.

"I'll try, Naruto. I can try. But if that doesn't work..." Sakura didn't voice her plan. It hurt for her to think about it. She may have hated every minute that she was now spending in Konoha, but running away from it just seemed impossible to her now. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sakura and she felt tears dropping onto her bare shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I really am sorry."

Sakura smiled and tightened her hold on him. It was comforting, holding onto her old best friend again. But it wasn't that same. She still felt empty.

After a while, Sakura pulled away, smiling at Naruto's cheeky grin that he threw her, his cheeks still damp from tears.

"I missed you, Sakura." He told her after his grin fell down into a sad smile. Sakura smiled back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Without saying goodbye, she turned and began to walk in the other direction, turning the corner and leaving Naruto in the road alone. She had said she would try, but she didn't want to get close to anyone. It was best she stayed distant and left to her thoughts.

Still dazed from the encounter with Naruto, she walked straight into someone and barely noticed, until the person in front of her froze. She looked up, meeting one single eye. Kakashi stared at her, his expression unclear as the mask covering his face blocked any emotion he may have been showing. Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Turned out, words weren't needed. Kakashi pulled her suddenly into a one-arm hug and rested his lips against the top of her forehead, keeping a firm hold on her back. She smiled and wrapped her arms around her old sensei, enjoying his smell of... well, Kakashi. It was a fleeting hug and they soon both pulled away, but Sakura knew it worked better than words ever would have. Kakashi's eyes crinkled up, showing that he was smiling. She smiled back and then they both walked past each other, gesturing goodbye with their hands without saying a word.

Sakura knew that everyone was still uneasy with her, despite how well they may have hidden it. She had been willing to leave Konoha in order to join the Akatsuki and that was something no one would forget.

Sakura stopped at an intersection in the road, looking left. She had been so busy the first few weeks after being let out of her holding cell, she hadn't had time to do what she had told herself after two weeks in the cell. There was one place she needed to visit, before she went anywhere else.

It only took her a few minutes to get to the graveyard. Thousands of gravestones decorated the hills, almost as if they were daisy's blooming. She had memorised the exact location of her parent's gravestones, though. Slowly, she pondered over to them, and placed herself in between the two.

"Mum. Dad." She acknowledged them both as if they were sitting right next to her. She leant on her back, placing her hands behind her head to stare up at the clouds. She may be feeling empty, depressed and sad, but the clouds still gave her an element of peace.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." She whispered after a couple of minute's silence. She sighed and scratched her forehead.

"I know you died trying to protect the village and your heart and souls were dedicated to Konoha, but I feel different. I wonder, if you were still alive... would you choose the Akatsuki over Konoha?" She ignored the tightness in her chest and turned over to face her mum's gravestone. "It's just... they help people, mum. They're really amazing what they do, I know it." Sakura smiled. "I only got to do two measly missions while I was with them and the second one hardly counts. You know what the first one felt like?" Sakura turned back over onto her back.

"It felt like I'd left the gates of Konoha for the first time, back when I was a Genin. It felt like I was eleven all over again."

Sakura closed her eyes and just relished in the cool breeze and the absolute silence of the graveyard. She hadn't realised that she had almost fallen asleep, when something landed on her arm. She opened one eye to glance down at it and noticed a dove with a note and package attached to the foot. Ignoring all cautious procedures she should have taken, she unravelled it from the doves' foot and shooed it away.

"A package?" She said to herself. She snorted. "By... dove?"

Hurriedly, she unwrapped it and two items from inside fell into her lap. She ignored them for a moment and picked up the letter.

_Sakura,_

_We couldn't leave you with nothing to remember us by. We know he would have killed us for going through his things and giving this to you, but hell, we know he'll be thankful for it to._

_Love, the Akatsuki and their new instated member._

Sakura lurched over and coughed dangerously for a few minutes, choking back tears that wouldn't come to her eyes. The pain in her chest lulled over and when she was sure it had finished, she sat back up and cursed to herself, before lifting the object that had fallen into her lap.

It was a clay model of a beautiful woman. She wore an Akatsuki cloak that seemed to make her look like an elegant princess and the face was engraved so delicately that almost the eyelashes were visible. Sakura's eyes widened just looking at it. But that wasn't what caught her attention. The obvious, pink hair stood out from the rest of the detail and she knew. Sakura knew that it was a model of her.

Slowly, she turned the model over so she could observe the underside where the artist would usually put his initials and, as predicted, engraved on the bottom was:_ My blossom. D._

The model dropped soundlessly to the floor as Sakura bent double to the ground, clutching her heart tightly. She let out a loud, frustrated scream and sobbed.

~*~

Unknown to Sakura, a figure watched as she wailed loudly into her knees, after having bunched up into a ball to muffle out her loud sobs. Sakura had to be careful. Shinobi who forget to keep in their emotions would eventually meet their demise by allowing them to be let loose. She had cried too many times over the incidents that had happened to her.

Tsunade straightened up from her position in the trees and began to walk away quickly, leaving Sakura alone. It was understandable, why the girl was crying so much. Konoha was too much, too fast. After having developed such strong bonds with the S-rank criminals within the space of almost a month, Konoha would seem like nothing more than a country she was born and raised in.

The Hokage opened the elegant gate that surrounded the graveyard and exited, nodding politely at people as she passed when they acknowledged her. What could she do? Sakura was a medical-nin, recommended for ANBU because of her strength that matched almost her own. How could anyone prevent her from making her own decisions?

_I would have kept her in the holding cell for as long as I could, just to make sure she didn't run away again..._ Of course, although Sakura was the main focus of her stressing, she also had Itachi Uchiha to deal with. The prodigy of the Uchiha clan. One of the best ANBU Captains around. And now, he was a missing-nin.

Just what was she supposed to do? Even the Councilors had been at a loss. Fighting the Uchiha would bring nothing but death and they were certain that Itachi had no intention of plotting against his village in order to take it over. Should they consider what Sakura had told them?

Tsunade's forehead creased as she headed up the pathway back to the Hokage's tower. They hadn't managed to get anything out of Sakura since she had come back. There was two things to work with: One; the message Sakura had sent back with Sasuke: 'Don't judge a scroll by its title.' And two; 'A shinobi must see underneath the underneath, Lady Tsunade. I thought you, of all people, would know that rule.'

It had been the only answer she had given them, when asked about the intentions of Akatsuki. It seemed Sakura knew what the real question was and answered that instead of what had been voiced.

As Tsunade entered her office, she slumped down into her chair and placed her head in her hands. Hassle. That was all the Akatsuki had caused her. So why was it that her apprentice had been so eager to leave her village and join the people that were supposed to be her enemy?

Tsunade lifted up a piece of paper, to attempt to read it, but her mind was too flooded with thoughts. Suddenly, she dropped the paper onto the desk. She would look into it. She'd never thought of it, but it had never been confirmed that the Akatsuki were actually ruthless murderers. Their members consisted of missing-nin that had either been exiled, or had left voluntarily from their village. Tsunade hurried up from her desk and ran towards the Locked Room – where majorly important files were hidden – rushing past a flustered Shizune who called after her, but whose words were unheard.

~*~

Tsunade couldn't believe it. The Akatsuki's members – well, the members they had info for – there wasn't one valid explanation for their departure of their home village. It stated either 'rumored' or 'suspected' or 'believed to'. And while the murders each of these criminals committed were updated after every kill, there was still nothing but these deaths occurring. No theft, torture, kidnapping – with the exception of Sakura and Itachi – or anything else of the sort. Just meaningless deaths.

_No, _Tsunade corrected herself. _A shinobi must always see underneath the underneath._

Randomly scanning down one of the files, a name caught her eye. Michio Watabe. Her eyes widened. But that was the thief that had stolen an artifact from the Sand! Why did the Akatsuki pursue such a pointless thief that affected them in no way whatsoever?

A knock at the door alerted her and Tsunade hurriedly placed the file back into the drawer. She opened the door to the Locked Room and Shizune stood, staring at her friend in a strange way.

"Sakura wishes to see you." Shizune stepped away from the door so that Tsunade could step out into the open, closing the door behind her and clapping her hands together to place the chakra lock on it.

She hurried to the office and flung the door open, staring at the kunoichi in front of her with worry.

"Sakura? Is anything wrong? Do you need anything?"

Her student smiled weakly back. "Lady Tsunade." She nodded her head politely. Tsunade frowned slightly at her formal tone.

"Sakura? What is it?"

Sakura looked down and fumbled with her hands nervously. "I was wondering…"

Tsunade waited. Sakura looked back up.

"I was wondering whether I could replace Shikamaru temporarily. As in, go to Suna for a while to discuss diplomatic things and stuff." Sakura scratched the back of her head nervously, wondering whether she placed the question correctly. She knew that she only really needed to go to Suna in order to make sure that the alliance was still holding strongly.

Sakura was beginning to feel very doubtful about the answer that Tsunade was going to give her, knowing that it was too soon to be trusted with leaving the village again.

_If I was Tsunade, I wouldn't trust me, _Sakura thought.

"Go."

Sakura looked up in alarm at her teacher, who was smiling slightly down at her.

"Go? You mean, I can do it?" Sakura asked, not believing what she had just heard. The Hokage nodded, walking over to the desk to reach in and give Sakura back her headband. The slash had been filled in and mended, but a slightly bump remained where it had once been.

Tsunade's smile widened a little. "But on one condition..."

_~*~_

"Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, you will be accompanying Sakura Haruno on her diplomatic mission to Suna." Tsunade almost laughed at the obvious strain mark on Sakura's forehead. She knew she had wanted to take the mission in order to get time alone, but there was really no other way she could allow Sakura to go. To let her apprentice loose after just having returned from almost joining Akatsuki… the people of Konoha would think their Hokage provided her apprentice with some sort of special treatment.

It wasn't nice to find such a thing humorous, but Sasuke's obvious discomfort at having to spend time with Sakura was rather different from his usual passive attitude. It hadn't escaped her notice that the Uchiha had been acting more than a little snappy and aggressive since his battle with the Akatsuki. Then again, his brother had joined them.

"I want you to take a different route to the one you would usually take to prevent the place that the Akatsuki had once cornered you in when you was in a team with Itachi Uchiha-" Immediately, the atmosphere in the room seemed to drop to a low minimum. Sakura had leant her arm against the wall, rested her head on it and was mumbling angrily under breath and Sasuke had fell to all fours on the floor, gripping the carpet and muttering to himself too. Naruto watched in bemusement.

"Guess that name is taboo here." Tsunade muttered to him. Naruto nodded in agreement.

~*~

Once the two had gotten over the little mishap, they were sent out of the office and they were on their way to Suna.

Sakura sensed Sasuke approaching her, then backing away. Then approaching her, and backing away again. After walking out the gates of Konoha and twenty more minutes of this, she turned suddenly and scowled at him.

"If there's something you want to say, come out and say it! You're driving me crazy." Sakura placed her hands on her hips and glared at the Uchiha, who even had the decency to blush. Naruto took this opportunity to snicker at his friend.

"Hn." Sasuke first reacted, scratching the back of his neck. Then he caught Sakura's eye. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I lost my temper with It-" He didn't say his name. Sighing, he flung his arms down to his side. "I didn't know they meant so much to you." The Uchiha looked away, frowning as though hating what he had said. Sakura's expression softened and her hand went over to the ring that was now on her hand. It was an action Naruto didn't miss.

"Hey, I never noticed you wore a ring before." He stepped forwards. "Or a bracelet."

Sasuke turned to see Sakura's reaction and she felt her face heat up under their stares. What was she supposed to tell them? Catching their gazes, she sighed in defeat and turned around, so her back was facing them.

"The bracelet belonged to… Itachi. And the ring," Sakura brushed her finger over it. "…was Deidara's"

The two boys behind her fell silent. It was like that for a while, until an arm was slung around her neck and her hand was taken. She looked at the owner of the arm – Naruto – and he grinned at her happily, starting to walk. The owner of the hand that had wrapped itself around hers was Sasuke. He didn't look entirely happy about it, but she knew he was just showing that he sort of shared her pain. She felt him brush his thumb against her ring and bracelet. Although she still felt sad and empty, she smiled softly.

"Thanks, guys."

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: Haven't proof read this yet. Most of these chapters are done at the speed of light incredibly early in the morning, so please forgive any mistakes that are made. :D**

**I think Sakura's turning out to be a bit of a cry baby, but really? Who can blame her?**

**Kinda depressing chapter. Not quite sure how I'll figure the next one out, although I've got sort of a good idea. I seem to be rushing through this story right now. I guess I want to get onto Snowbows. Haha. (:**

**Review, it makes me happy and will make my Wednesday morning! I'm having a crappy week and Wednesdays are always awful. If you review, it'll put a smile on my face for the rest of the day. :D I would even go so far as to say that the best review will get mentioned in the next chapter! xD**

**If I don't get any reviews until Thursday, the same rule applies. xD**

**Thanks. :D**


	17. Sand

-

**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect...''_

_-_

The heat violently bounced off Sakura's pale skin and she let out a hefty sigh, before wiping away the sweat that had formed along her brow. Why had she asked to head to Suna, again? All she wanted was to get out of Konoha for a while, to clear her head. But the heat seemed to be filling up the gaps that the thoughts left behind, as they flew out of her mind.

"Man, Sakura. Sometimes you come up with some really suckish ideas." Naruto groaned, his breathing heavy as he padded slowly behind her. She moaned too.

"I know, Naruto. I know."

Even Sasuke was having a little trouble keeping a straight face, the strain in his eyes showing that the effect of the heat was bothering him also. The walls of Suna were ahead of them, but they didn't seem to be getting any closer. After ten more painful minutes of walking through the stifling air and her feet being scratched by the sand beneath her, they approached the gate. Two Sand shinobi nodded at them in greeting and they all barely nodded back, before stumbling through the gate. They found that once inside the walls, the air had cooled, although only a little.

They dragged their feet towards the Kazekage's building and Sakura spotted a familiar redhead waiting for them out the front. She stretched a hand out and waved, smiling happily at Gaara. She hurriedly increased her walking speed and threw her arms around the Kazekage, smiling over his shoulder.

"Gaara." She said happily. She knew he didn't like making contact with other people, but she felt him wrap his arms around her all the same.

"Sakura. It's been a long time." He said in his gravelly, deep voice. She pulled back and smiled at him and although his face remained passive, his eyes were alight with happiness. Naruto and Sasuke stood behind her, momentarily confused and quite shocked that Sakura had just hugged Gaara of the Sand. She turned around and noticed their expressions, but ignored them. Gaara turned to leave, entering his residence. Sakura followed him, Naruto and Sasuke following rather warily behind.

"You never greet me like that, Sakura." Naruto grumbled behind her. Sasuke hummed in agreement, although it sounded like more than a grunt. She threw a frown over her shoulder.

"That's because Gaara isn't annoying or emotionally retarded." Sakura threw her eyes into Sasuke's direction for the end comment. He just snorted. Gaara stopped in front of a door and opened it, stepping aside so they could walk in and observe the room they would be staying in. It had three different bedrooms and Sakura gasped when she entered. It was huge and looked very similar to the rooms that Konoha's most expensive suites were like. She turned to Gaara in surprise and noticed the smallest of smiles twitching around his lips. She smiled brightly at him and hugged him again, making Naruto and Sasuke jump.

"Thanks, Gaara." She whispered, kissing him on the cheek. She pulled away and noticed the smallest of blushes on his face, the smile no longer present. She laughed quietly to herself and walked into the room, sighing contently at the fact she would be staying in such a luxurious suite, albeit the heat would still be rather difficult to live with.

"Do I want to know how you and Suna's Kazekage got so close?" Sasuke spoke to her from across the room. She smiled to herself with her hands behind her back.

"You don't need to know." She rocked backwards and forwards on her feet, knowing for a fact she was riling with both Naruto and Sasuke's curiosity. Not that it bothered her – she was just trying to irritate them. She felt like she needed to get a rise out of someone, just so that she could have another one of those enjoyable arguments... She waited. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke seemed to retaliate to her secrecy and she sighed, a sinking feeling in her stomach reappearing. It just wasn't the same as it was with _him..._ As her chest threatened to compress again, she quickly shoved all thoughts away. She had escaped Konoha to get away from the ghosts of Itachi and Deidara that seemed to linger around every corner, not to come to Suna to think about them...

She noticed that the sun was beginning to set outside and caught her reflection in the window. She had paled even more since she had returned and her mouth was set in a thin, sad line. Her hair seemed to have faded into a dull pink, framed around her face that seemed hollowed and tired. She was a mess.

"Sasuke, Naruto..." She began, stepping forwards to watch people scurrying around the streets below her. She knew they were both listening, as the conversation they had begun seemed to stop. "I'm gonna go out for a drink this evening. Don't wait up for me, alright?" She turned around and noticed them quickly mask concerned expressions. She frowned. She hated that she was being pitied by them.

"Alright, I'm leaving now." She stormed from the room and slammed the door on the way out. Naruto and Sasuke stared after her, bewildered.

"What did we do?"

~*~

The desert was a lot colder at night and Sakura liked that. The small bar that she was sitting at held no more than a few people, sitting alone and wallowing in their own problems, just as she was. Well, more washing them away then bathing in them.

Sitting there, alone, she told herself that no matter how hard she pressed it into the back of her mind, she knew. She missed Itachi. She missed Deidara. She missed Hidan. Hell, she missed them all. Itachi had handed her over to Konoha and she wanted to kill him for that, but when he wasn't with her, her mind drifted to all the times they had touched, argued, fought together. At first, she didn't understand why she felt that way. With the Akatsuki, it was easy to block out Itachi and concentrate on how she felt about their situation. She thought that she felt that way, just because he was protecting her, in a sense.

Sakura glared hard at the counter, concluding that she allowed men to push her around way too much, especially Itachi Uchiha. She was thinking too much about him and there were thousands of reasons she had for being so depressed. For one Itachi had kissed her in the most passionate way and left her completely unclear as to where exactly his motives lay. For two, the thoughts of him were resurfacing from the back of her mind, allowing her to think about nothing but the black-haired Uchiha. And for three, she had a horrible, frightening feeling that she - Sakura Haruno – had actually fallen in love.

"A young girl like you shouldn't be out, drinking yourself stupid like these dopes." Sakura lifted her head, noticing that the room around her quickly spun. After it had stopped, she focused on the short, old woman in front of her. The old woman's eyes drifted to her head.

"You're a shinobi too. That's disappointing."

Sakura frowned, downing the last of her drink before turning fully to face the woman.

"Last time I checked, this is my life I'm living, not yours." Sakura slurred, jabbing a finger at the old woman. She was given a sour look in return, and the woman waved a hand at Sakura, gesturing her to follow. Sakura watched after her for a moment, before obliging. They walked in silence to the edge of the village, where no lights shone in the darkness. The old woman seated herself on a bench and Sakura frowned, doing the same.

"Tell me."

Sakura looked up at her, frowning deeper and struggling to keep the world from spinning.

"Tell you what?" She asked. The woman stared hard at her and then turned her gaze upwards towards the night sky. She pursed her lips.

"I want to hear your life story, dear. My life is almost over and I want to hear the troubles of a young girl before I go. The two boys that you arrived here with obviously don't know the full story and I know it helps to talk about it." Sakura stared at her in surprise.

"You know I came here with someone?"

The old woman nodded and lifted her head down to look at Sakura. Sakura stared back into her eyes, noticing they were filled with a determined stare. Not sympathy. There was an aura around the woman that made Sakura want to tell her everything – about Itachi, the Akatsuki, her parents...

Or maybe it was just the alcohol.

"When I saw you at that bar, you reminded me of myself. I spent my entire life, regretting my choices and telling myself that it was best just to forget about everything." The woman smiled at her, her eyes crinkling upwards. "I know that if you don't tell someone, you'll follow the same fate I did – you'll end up alone, with no one to hold your hand while you pass away, no one to tell you what's right and what's wrong."

Sakura swallowed, her eyes drooping slightly as she threatened to fall asleep. She shook herself awake at the woman's words. She was right. She would end up alone.

So Sakura told her everything. The woman sat quietly and listened to the whole story that Sakura spilled out to her. From when her parents died, to the kidnapping with Orochimaru. The funny thing was, that not once did the woman look confused at the names that were mentioned. It was as though a civilian like her knew just who they were.

The sun had begun to rise as Sakura finished her story, her throat dry and her eyes damp from tears that remained unshed from the sad memories. As the story ended, Sakura's eyes began to droop and before she could finish the last sentence, she fell forwards and fell unconscious, darkness taking over her and the fragments of her memories still flashing in front of her eyes.

~*~

"Sakura." Sakura moaned and hid the bright light from the sun with her arms. "Sakura." A voice called out to her and following it was a nudge on her elbow. She grumbled and turned over.

"SAKURA."

Sakura sat up quickly and held her thumping head, her eyes screwing up to block out the piercing light that threatened to spill through her eyelids. When she opened her eyes slowly, she saw Naruto and Sasuke looming over her and staring at her.

"Where am I?" She mumbled, looking around. Her arms and hip were sore from her uncomfortable night on a bench and she stared at Sasuke and Naruto in confusion. They sighed and Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Sakura, when you said you were going for a drink, we didn't think you'd go all Grandma Tsunade on us. You spent the whole night out here."

Sakura looked tiredly around the room and then it struck her. She had been talking to someone before she passed out. What was her name?

"A woman. There was a woman. Where did she go?" Sakura looked around hurriedly, hoping to see the old woman somewhere nearby. She jumped when a hand was pressed to her forehead.

"She doesn't LOOK ill." Naruto frowned at Sakura's face and removed his hand from her forehead. She scowled at him.

"I'm not ill, Naruto. I was talking to someone last night and now they've gone." Her scowl turned into a deep frown. "She left me to sleep out here, that's considerate."

Naruto shook his head and helped Sakura to her feet. "You've got a meeting with Gaara and then me and Sasuke are going back to the Leaf Village. Grandma Tsunade has a mission for us."

Her mood dropped slightly. Although she didn't really want to spend time with Naruto and Deidara's accidental killer, she had enjoyed some familiar company. She nodded anyway and allowed Naruto to hold her hand as she walked through Suna, so she kept her balance.

It took no less than five minutes to get to Gaara's residence and Sakura frowned. She could have sworn the woman had taken her further out of the village the night before.

When Sakura turned to wave goodbye to Sasuke and Naruto, she found nothing but empty air. Sighing, she plodded up the steps and walked into the building. The two had obviously wanted a decent mission that didn't involve dragging her depressed ass around all day.

She had no trouble finding Gaara's office and she politely knocked before entering. She walked in after being called by Gaara and she greeted him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. This didn't escape Gaara's notice.

"Sakura, you are here to discuss diplomatic issues, correct?" Sakura nodded, unsure where Gaara happened to be going with the discussion. He rose out of his seat and placed his chalky hands behind his back, staring out the window at the vast village before him.

"Diplomatic issues are unimportant at this moment in time," he threw his eyes into her direction, "I want you to go back to Konoha."

Sakura's eyes widened and she swallowed, stepping forwards. "Gaara, I came here to-"

"They won't come back for you, Sakura." His eyes stared at her sharply. "Konoha is your home."

His words were like a bullet to her chest. She was a complete, utter idiot. Sure, she was depressed and angry with Itachi for ditching her so crudely, but deep down she seemed to think that he'd come back for her. Or that she could return to the Akatsuki – it was just a matter of waiting.

But what Gaara said seemed to finally strike the wrong chord. They weren't ever coming back for her. She was eighteen years old and will have to spend the rest of her life in Konoha, whether she liked it or not. Why did she ever come to think that escaping to Suna would suddenly make everything better? Did she think that maybe, being away from Konoha, there would be more chance of being recaptured by the Akatsuki?

She felt like smacking her forehead. She was a shinobi and shinobi were supposed to be full of logic and understanding. But she hadn't even thought everything through. What comfort did Suna bring anyway? It was no different to Konoha. She was in a cage that had simply been relocated.

She swallowed, nodding bluntly at the Kazekage in front of her, who remained expressionless as always. She took a few steps forwards and embraced him, purposely not noticing him going as stiff as a board in her hold.

"Thank you." She whispered sadly into his ear, before releasing him and turning to leave the room. She closed the door quietly behind her, leaving Gaara standing alone in his office, his eyes not leaving the door until he felt her chakra signature leave the building.

~*~

She threw another chakra-infused punch at a tree nearby, watching in anger as the small splinters of wood blasted outwards like butterflies being chased.

"Why did you leave me?" She croaked to herself, leaning against a tree trunk, her hands trembling with adrenaline.

"I DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK." Her pale fist came into contact with the tree she had been leaning on, ploughing itself into the harsh, brown wood.

"He didn't have to die." She choked, no tears falling from her eyes. She wasn't upset. She wasn't depressed or sad. She was angry. No – more than angry. She was absolutely livid with rage. Her chakra was draining fast, but she felt good. Releasing all of the tension that had built up on her shoulders was making her feel almost light-headed.

"I don't want to be left alone." She caressed her bleeding knuckles with her other hand, staring hard at the ground. Her eyes were wide and distraught.

"I WANTED TO BE WITH YOU!" She lunged at the ground, collapsing to all fours. She laid in the crater she had just created and scraped her fingers along the dirt. No one could hear her – she knew. The Akatsuki were probably far from Konoha, far from anywhere she could reach. Memories she had pushed away began to play back in her head; Deidara and her playing cards; Itachi smirking down at her when he thought she wasn't looking; Hidan cursing her angrily; Deidara grinning at her; Itachi's lips so close to her own; Deidara chasing Tobi with a butter knife; Itachi throwing Deidara out of their room after just having woken up; Deidara's blood-stained face; Itachi's last words to her...

'_I'll miss you, blossom. You've been a blast...'_

'_Don't look for me.'_

"You stupid idiots." She whispered hoarsely, clenching her fists tighter. The cold, biting wind blew over her shoulders as the sun set, leaving her shaking with both the cold and emotion. Her chakra was almost gone – she was reckless. If she were to be attacked, she would have no way of fighting against them.

Sakura turned over onto her back, staring at the sky with her arms down by her sides. The stars were slowly starting to emerge and she watched them, the cold no longer being acknowledged by her aching body. She was so emotionally weak since she had left the Akatsuki. There was no way she could return to being a shinobi – it would be too much. She could hand in her headband and maybe in twenty years time, she would find a man to marry and she could settle down and start a family.

She snorted. Never. She'd never leave behind the life she has. Although, at that moment in time, she was lost, almost out of chakra, trembling with cold, suffering from heart ache and her limbs were screaming with overuse, she wouldn't ever regret staying with Itachi when he was going to take on Kisame, Deidara and Tobi on his own. She made the choice to stay with him and it had given her so much more then she bargained for.

She closed her eyes, smiling quite contently to herself. Her emotions had been let out, her anger destroyed half a forest and she was lost. Slowly, she moved a hand over to brush against her ring and bracelet. No; she'd never trade the memories, not even for the world.

~*~

Blue eyes opened. Blonde hair caressed the empty atmosphere.

The crater caught his eye. A flash of pink made him run.

His heart singed. His orbs widened.

"Blossom?"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: I made the ending a little confusing, I apologise. I really can't think of a better way to put it.**

**Sorry for the short chapter. I had VERY bad writers block. I also apologise for the long wait - I had my birthday and birthday party, so I was kinda occupied. **

**I must say, I have no idea whether the idea I have is gonna work or not for this story. In my opinion, I think it needs a bit of work, so I gotta lot of thinking to do.**

** Sad to say, I think this is coming to an end soon. Not sure whether or not I will continue with Snowbows either, as I think I might give writing a bit of a break for a little while so I can work on my book.**

******Review, order me to update quicker and give me as much criticism as you want. I'll take it all in happily. :)**


	18. Growl

-

**Rainflakes**

_''Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

_-  
_

Sakura opened her eyes, noticing that the sky was still dark. Unlike what the atmosphere had been like before she had fallen into a trance, everything around her was eerily silent. Not even animals were scurrying around this late, running from the predators.

_I don't want to go back just yet, _Sakura thought to herself, shifting her position so she was more comfortable in the crater she had created. She wanted to just pretend that she wasn't a shinobi and that the past few years had been nothing but a dream – that she was in fact just a normal girl, who was lost and on some romantic adventure to find the one she loved.

Cringing, she realised there was some truth to what she said. She knew Gaara had said that the chances of her meeting the Akatsuki again were low, but she could dream, couldn't she? The idea of fantasies was that they didn't come true and that was exactly what she was doing. Fantasising about something that wouldn't ever come true.

Her ear perked up suddenly. A branch had snapped in the distance. It could have been anything – an animal, a branch falling from a tree. But something told her it wasn't. The crack had been loud, as though something heavy-footed had stepped on it. She slowly sat up, edging her hand down towards her pouch. Her chakra was so low, she knew that if it was a missing-nin, the only way of defeating them would be with taijutsu. The eerie silence had now built up into a tension. There was definitely something out there – something that was breathing. Something that was big.

Suddenly, the cautious creature began to run forwards, as branches and leaves cracked under its feet. Sakura stumbled up, losing her balance and gaining it again. Her eyes widened as the figure leant over the crater.

It was a bear. Not just any bear – it was a HUGE bear. Sakura swallowed as drool dropped from the bear's mouth, the sharp teeth shining murderously at her as it slowly edged into the crater. Sakura moved backwards slowly, her legs wobbling uneasily. There was no way she could kill one of these bears with just taijutsu – she didn't have the energy. She threw several shuriken at the big creature and noticed with fear that they simply bounced off of the fur. It was an armoured bear. They were bears that had fur that was almost impenetrable.

It ran forward suddenly at an immense speed and Sakura attempted to dodge out of the way of it. Unfortunately, the sharp claws managed to catch her shoulder and she cried out in pain as it pierced her pale skin. Liquid trickled fast down her chest and she frowned, holding her arm painfully.

She was going to be killed by a bear. After all she'd been through; she was going to be killed by a bear.

It ran at her again, sinking its teeth into her side. She yelled, throwing a harsh kick at its head. It done nothing but knocked the creature a little sideways and it bared its teeth back at her in anger. Suddenly, the bear threw a claw at her, sending her flying backwards into the edge of the crater. The back of her head was now bleeding and her vision was blurred.

_It won't be long, _she thought, screwing her face tightly with pain. What could she do? She had wasted her chakra on anger management and her body was too tired to engage into taijutsu.

It slowly plodded towards her and she watched it approach. No life flashed before her eyes. No feeling of regret coursed through her. It was simple – she was going to die.

_At the hands of a bear. You disgust me. _Her inner self seemed to contribute to her last words. Sakura laughed slightly, despite herself. It was true. She was pathetic.

As her eyes slowly began to close, she felt sad that the last thing she would see before her death was this angry, hungry bear. Tiredness overwhelmed her and finally, the jade in her eyes dulled into a sage and she fell limp, completely unconscious.

~*~

She was alive. That much she knew. She was also in a nice, warm place, wrapped in a soft grey blanket. Her body ached all over and she edged her arm slowly to her side, noticing that bandages had been placed around her side. It seemed her shoulder had been bandaged too.

She tensed up suddenly when she realised that a presence beside her was watching her every move. Her eyes still refused to open and she felt like just falling back asleep, content that she was in a safe place.

But she wanted to know where she was. She could be back in Konoha and a sinking feeling in her stomach made her _not _want to be back there. Suna seemed like a more likely possibility and she knew that she have much preferred to have been brought back to Suna. However, it seemed too warm – not hot – to be Suna. The smell in the air was one she hadn't inhaled before.

_Just open your eyes, _Sakura's inner self seemed to say. Her curiosity was fighting against her weariness and yelled at her to look. The presence beside her moved closer and she realised that fingers were entwined with hers. A door opened. Another presence.

A dark shadow fell over her eyelids and she felt soft breath against her ear.

"Open your eyes, Sakura."

She opened them.

~*~

Her head remained still as she scanned the room as quickly as she could. Plain, grey walls surrounded her on all sides, one window in the corner revealing nothing but a vast scenery of wood and a small river. The room contained one chest of drawers and a full length mirror that was positioned directly in front of bed she was lying in. The reflections of the two people looming over her made her forget that she was observing the room and went directly to the two people beside her.

Jade met crimson, then clashed with aqua. Her eyes widened and her heart began to beat a million times a second. She was dead. That had to be it. She was unconscious or at home in Konoha, daydreaming about the thing she wished could happen.

Because there was no way – no way AT ALL – that lying beside her, in this bland, boring room, staring at her with concern and happiness in their eyes, was Itachi and Deidara.

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: I know. What the hell is with this short-arse chapter that I uploaded right after my other one. Well, I'm sitting in a Business lesson and was bored stupid, so decided to write the next chapter. However, I feel that I should end this here, just to wind you people up. I'm aware that a bear is sort of cliche, but I don't care. I just thought it'd be funny, cos I know that quite a few of you would have thought that the bear was going to be Deidara. It WAS at first, going to be him, but I thought that was a little boring. xD**

**Review this miniscule chapter and I'll upload the next as quick as possible. :)**


	19. Love

-

**Rainflakes**

_'Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

_-_

She couldn't tear her eyes away from Itachi or Deidara. Her mind – it had turned to mush. Questions she couldn't ask were tearing through her head, floating in front of her eyes as if to taunt her inability to speak at that particular moment. Itachi lifted a hand to stroke her cheek and she closed her eyes, relishing in the touch she never thought she'd get again.

"Heal yourself." He ordered her. Sakura opened her eyes, frowning in concentration. She had to forget about her situation – just for a moment. She needed to go into medic mode.

She checked her chakra levels – they were high enough to mend the rip in her stomach, but not the wound on her shoulder. Observing them, she noticed that little healing had been done on them already. She assumed Pain was responsible for that. Her face tensed up in pain as she lifted a hand, brushing it against her stomach to heal it.

When she had finished, she slowly lifted herself up, leaning against the wall.

"What-" She croaked one word, before falling into a coughing fit and grimacing as the attempt to talk hurt her throat. Itachi stared back at her, his face empty but his eyes twinkling.

"I believe you are not the only one who wishes to know what is going on." Itachi replied, turning around to look at Deidara.

Sakura brought her gaze back up to the blonde, who was standing beside Itachi with a huge grin on his face. She blinked a few times, as though to try and get rid of the supposed illusion. She filled with emotion at the sight of her blonde friend whom she never thought she would lay eyes upon again.

"Deidara..." She said only his name and he nodded, sitting on the edge of her bed and keeping his eyes planted on her.

"I woke up not far from where I found you." His brow creased in confusion. "It was the strangest thing. One moment, there was only darkness and then I was somehow able to open my eyes. I felt like crap," he threw her a humourless smirk. "And there was an old woman lying beside me. She was dead, but she had one of the biggest smiles I'd ever seen on her face. She looked so happy."

Sakura's stomach dropped. An old woman? It couldn't have been...

Deidara rummaged in his trouser pocket, moving his cloak out of the way so he could access it. Then he pulled out his closed hand, stretching it towards Sakura and opening it.

"She had this in her hand and a note." Deidara passed her an object and a slip of paper. "I don't know why and I don't know how, but it was addressed to you."

Sakura's throat closed up and she let out a choked sob, raising a hand to take it. She wasn't crying but the emotion in her stomach was so intense that she had to release it. She hurriedly tore it open, forgetting about the object that had been in her hand.

_Sakura,_

_You've probably realised who I am by now. Apart from an old, fragile woman with no purpose in life. After talking to you, I realised that it was about time I stopped holding onto life, wishing that I could relive it. You're just eighteen – seeing you in that bar, with a look of absolute agony on your face... You'd caught me in your net and there was no way for me to escape. I'm a shinobi – just as you are. In fact, I'm quite important. I don't know what made me do this – maybe it was because I saw a bit of myself in you. Your story had struck something inside of me and I hope bringing this boy to life would have brought you back to Itachi Uchiha. I have heard of him and feel that he made the right choice in joining the Akatsuki – but the wrong choice in letting you go. _

_Do what you feel is right, my mother used to tell me. Now I pass this wise quote onto you. Don't let him go, Sakura. Don't let either of them go._

_Yours sincerely_

_Chiyo_

A single tear fell from Sakura's face and onto the letter. A complete stranger – a stranger whom she had not given even a passing thought – had killed herself in order to bring Deidara back to life. Chiyo – Suna's retired elder. Sakura had read about her and knew very little. Chiyo had killed herself to bring Sakura happiness. She had died with a smile on her face.

Sakura smiled and let out a short laugh, still crying sadly, yet with a touch of happiness. She stared at Deidara and Itachi, who were both looking at her with perplexed expressions. The dream she had wanted, the fantasy she knew would never come true – it had become reality. Simply because of an old woman, whose heart she had touched with her story.

The letter was prised from her hands and she allowed Itachi to take it, letting him read. He scanned it only briefly and brought his eyes back up to Sakura, handing the letter to Deidara beside him. Sakura wiped the tears away from her eyes and picked up the object that had fallen into her lap. It was the statue of her that Deidara had made. When had Chiyo managed to take it?

Able to move slightly now that her stomach had been healed, she swung her legs out of bed. She was with them again – Deidara and Itachi. The moment she rose to her feet, Itachi stood in front of her, his face rather expressionless and his eyes showing a stern stare. Her insides froze at the sight of his sudden mood change.

"You were reckless again, Sakura. How could you allow yourself to waste your chakra? If Deidara had not come, you would have been killed."

Sakura's mouth visibly fell open. She had just recovered from a near-death experience, seen Itachi's face for the first time in a long, agonising month and _that_ was all he could say? He could only scold her for being_ careless_?

Anger raged in her stomach, reminding her of what she had promised to do when she saw him again. With the little chakra she had left, she clenched her fist and threw it into Itachi's stomach. As it was unexpected, it came into contact perfectly and sent Itachi flying towards the wall, leaving a hefty dent in it as he fell to the floor. A good few ribs must have been broken.

She didn't spare him another glance and hobbled over to Deidara, throwing her arms around him. The blonde moved his surprised gaze away from Itachi and back to Sakura, letting out a loud laugh and returning the hug, tightening his arms around her.

"Hey, Blossom. It's been a while." He whispered to her, inhaling the scent he never thought he would smell again. She sniffed and smiled to herself, pulling him closer to her.

"Idiot. I won't say what I've gone through without you." She snuggled into him, grinning to herself. It was true – a portion of her heart loved Deidara. But it wasn't in a romantic way – it was almost like a brotherly love. She knew that Deidara felt the same way toward her. The screwed relationship they shared was not a passionate attraction, like the kind she THOUGHT she had with Itachi.

"Haruno, I assure you there is no reason to be so hostile."

Sakura pulled away from Deidara, wincing as her shoulder cracked. She glared at the hobbling Itachi with hatred, a pleasing shiver running through her at the sight of blood trickling down the edge of his mouth.

"There was reason to be hostile, _Uchiha. _You handed me over to Konoha like I was some sort of ragdoll." Sakura clenched her teeth, ignoring the scratchy feeling she was getting in her throat for talking so much. "Do you have any idea what I went through? While you sat here, happily, with your new family, I was in Konoha, fighting to assure the Hokage I wasn't about to run off to try and find you." She let out a croaky, short laugh and ran a hand through her hair and lifted her eyes to stare at the ceiling. "The only reason I would have ever tried to find you was so I could get the pleasure of beating you to a pulp, healing you, and then doing it again."

She threw her angry eyes back to Itachi, narrowing them. "As it would happen, I'm a little banged up, so I guess the beating will have to wait. Those broken ribs should cause you enough pain."

She brought her head down so her hair covered her eyes, her voice dropping to an almost sad tone. "I hope that pain brings you as much pain as you brought me."

She turned around, leaving Itachi to stare at her back, wincing as his hand ran over one of his ribs. Deidara watched the scene before him, too happy that he was experiencing some of Sakura's anger again to actually take note of the seriousness of the situation.

There was silence for a moment, before Itachi hobbled out of the room and slammed the door on the way out. Deidara stepped forwards towards Sakura, who was standing with one hand pressed to her eyes, her shoulders shaking with her sobs.

"Why... why can't it be easy?" She whispered hoarsely. "Why can't he just say if he wants me or not?"

Deidara walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her neck, resting his chin on the top of her head. He smiled.

"You've been unconscious for three days, blossom." He bent down to her ear, moving her hair out of the way so he could whisper into it clearly. "He hasn't left your side once."

On that note, he released her and left the room, leaving her staring after him, her cheeks damp and her jade eyes opened wide.

_You're a heartless bitch, Sakura, _her inner self mocked. Sakura walked over to the wall beside her bed and rested her forehead against it, cursing profusely.

_I know, _she replied. _I know._

_~*~_

The new Akatsuki hideout. She was in the new Akatsuki hideout.

It had been a day since her tiff with Itachi and she had managed to re-heal her shoulder, leaving only a heavy bruising on both her ribs and shoulder.

Turned out the Akatsuki hideout was an hour's journey away from her current location. They had moved so they were halfway between Suna and Konoha, using the logic 'the last place they expect us to be is right under their noses'.

Although Sakura was extremely happy to once again, be around the people she had become friends with, it came with a dread. Was Itachi going to hand her back over to Konoha? Would they allow her to stay?

Would she want to stay?

After just being accepted by her friends back in Konoha, did she really want to throw everything away again? It seemed Itachi was just as confused as she was. Although she had still not healed him yet, unable to bring herself to approach him after her outburst, he still sent her concerned glances and searching gazes.

"You should heal him. He's so fucking short-tempered when he's hurt." Hidan whispered into Sakura's ear, after catching her staring at Itachi again over the table. They had provided her with clothes – just a plain black t-shirt and a pair of shorts – and she was beginning to feel very intimidated by the cloaks that everyone wore. It was even more so intimidating that Itachi was wearing one. And looked damn good in it.

She threw a glare at Hidan. "I'm not healing him until he apologises, or at least promises not to throw me back to Konoha." She said her words loud enough for Itachi to hear and the whole table seemed to quieten down their conversations, pretending they weren't listening. Deidara sent her an amused smirk.

Hidan sent his gaze around the table, before bending lower down to her with a questioning expression on his face.

"You mean, you want to fucking _stay?_" He asked in a stage whisper. She resisted the urge to laugh at his obviousness. Although she wasn't close with Hidan, there were times when he made her smile. She brought her eyes up to Itachi, her expression completely.

"Yes. I want to stay." She narrowed her eyes at him and he narrowed his back, disapprovingly. "And no one is going to stop me."

~*~

She knew he was following her and she let him, walking into her room and leaving the door hanging open. With his injured ribs, there was no way he could even attempt to harm her when he got her alone.

He walked in and slammed the door, his eyes alight. One hand held his ribs.

"You are being foolish. This is not your home." He said sternly. She smirked at him, placing both her hands on her hips.

"Last time I checked, Uchiha, I was in charge of my life, not you. You don't see me telling _you _to go home." Her smirk wavered slightly. "I don't have family there. You do. I've seen firsthand how Sasuke has been over the past month and I assure you, it's terrifying."

Itachi winced and she knew that she had hit a soft spot. Itachi's promise that he would go back to Sasuke echoed in the air between them. His eyes suddenly flashed red.

"He can take care of himself. He doesn't need an older brother to hold his hand." Itachi stepped forwards, making Sakura step back. The smirk fell from her face as her eyes met his – jade clashing with crimson. She hadn't thought about his use of genjutsu. He kept on approaching her slowly and she frowned when her back came into contact with the wall behind her.

"If you don't step back, I'll break your other set of ribs." Sakura hissed when Itachi placed his arms either side of her head. Her eyes widened when a smirk crossed his face. He wasn't wincing in pain, as he should have been. Her eyes flickered down to his ribs and she found that no bones were sticking through his t-shirt that he wore under his cloak.

"They-"

"Konan knows a good deal of medical jutsu. Broken ribs are nothing to her."

Sakura's blood boiled. How long had Itachi been feigning his pain? Another shot of anger ran through her. Had Konan touched him?

She jumped when he leaned forward to her ear, blowing into it gently. The anger throbbed and she placed her hands on his chest, attempting to push him away.

"Get off me, or I'll seriously injure you a-" She gasped when his lips suddenly came into contact with her neck, sucking gently at a pulse point. Her hands became lax against his chest, clenching his t-shirt as though trying to pull him closer, instead of push him away. His lips came away from her neck and came up to her face, brushing his lips against hers. Her legs turned to jelly and she cursed herself mentally. She may have been furious with Itachi, but she still had this stupid attraction to him and the things he was doing her was sending her mind off track, away from the things she was protesting against.

"I won't send you back to Konoha," he said to her, moving his lips back down to the side of her neck. She turned away to give him better access. He began to place gentle kisses against it.

"I made a mistake," he said, bringing his hand up to the side of her head, letting it rest in his palm as he kissed his way up to her cheek. She sighed and her heart skipped. Was Itachi trying to say-

"I'm sorry." His voice sounded irritated as he said it and it was more monotone than before, but he had done it. He had apologised to her and that was more than she could ask for. Itachi Uchiha never said sorry to anyone. He never admitted that he had made mistakes.

But he had. To her.

Itachi lifted his head, stroking her cheek with his thumb and staring at her with a twinkle in his eyes, but a bland face. Sakura was breathless, admiring Itachi for the first time in ages. She wasn't dreaming – he was actually there. The past month, she had wished for this moment. And thanks to Chiyo, she had gotten it.

He leant forwards slowly, allowing their breath to mingle and their eyes to flutter close, before pressing his lips gently against her, his palm still attached to her cheek.

Sakura brought her hand around to entwine into his hair, wrapping her other hand around his neck. Itachi's hands moved down to her slender waist, riding up her t-shirt to rest on her pale hips. His hands were warm against her chilly skin and she sighed, pressing her lips harder against his. She had waited for this – for so long.

As Itachi laid her down on the bed, kissing his way down her neck, she tilted her head back and smiled genuinely for the first time in a month as a pleasurable thought ran through her mind.

Sakura Haruno had fallen in love.

~*~

"Idiot." Tobi yelped as Deidara slapped him around the back of the head, almost sending the orange-masked shinobi into his plateful of food. Sakura laughed, taking a sip of red wine from the elegant glass she was holding. She didn't question how it was they had come across such a nice batch of wine – or food for that matter. It was best to leave it unquestioned. Looking around the table, she smiled. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the celebration feast, even Pain had a worrying twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"Speech!" Deidara yelled, hopping to his feet. He sent a smirk to everyone around the table, picking up a glass and throwing it at a wall. They all fell silent, staring at the messy shards now spread across the floor.

"Deidara, you're supposed to TAP the glass. Not throw it." Kisame growled. Deidara shrugged, grinning at him.

"Well, my way worked better."

Sakura snorted in amusement and looked at Itachi, who was watching Deidara passively. She smiled at the Uchiha and entwined her fingers with his under the table. She switched her gaze to Deidara too, pretending not to notice when Itachi looked at her.

Deidara cleared his throat. "The purpose of this feast was to celebrate my miraculous recovery from death, yeah." He nodded, grinning smugly. Then he brought his gaze to Sakura and Itachi, his grin falling down to more of a loving smile.

"And to congratulate our newest members who are not only part of our team now, but also part of our family, yeah." His grin returned and he raised a glass into the air, watching as several red and black clothed arms followed the gesture. Sakura's eyes filled with emotional tears and she raised a glass too, smiling brightly at him. Deidara brushed his gaze over everyone else's; meeting Sakura's last, before finishing the toast:

"To a world, that's just full of surprises."

**To Be Continued... One Last Time...**

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A/N: ****I don't know if that was rushed. If so, I apologise. I really enjoyed myself writing this chapter though.**

**I regretted my choice of plotline after realised just how stupid it was having CHIYO kill herself to bring Deidara back. I mean, it's probably the only downside to this story.**

**I only have the epilouge to write now, hence the 'one last time' thing. I'll finish off my emotional authors note in the epilouge.**

**Short chapter, I know. But it was either finish it now, or do a short epilouge. I'll go for the latter.**

**Review! Tell me your opinion! Keep an eye on Snowbows, as the moment I've finished the epilogue, I'll be updating.**


	20. Final

-

**Rainflakes**

_'Because sometimes, life can change in ways you least expect..."_

_-_

Sakura ran quickly, her arms flailing behind her, red and black cape flapping around her ankles. She swerved an incoming kunai and swiftly jumped through the air, slicing the mans throat and landing neatly beside him. She clapped her hands together, as though ridding them of invisible dust and turned to smile at Itachi, who emerged from in between the trees. His arms were crossed and a firm frown was creasing his brow.

"I win. Again." She grinned at him, placing both hands behind her head, like Naruto had used to do. Itachi smirked at her and approached her quickly, wrapping a hand around her waist and pressing a light kiss to her lips. Sakura shivered in surprise, but smiled against them, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss.

"Wait until after the mission, please." Deidara scolded them, picking up the dead body from the floor. Sakura turned and poked her tongue out at him. He waggled his eyebrows.

"I'll let you do it, as long as you give me a kiss too."

He dodged an oncoming branch that she threw at him and laughed loudly, before leaping into the tree branches above them. Itachi entwined his fingers with Sakura's and followed him.

It had been five months since they had joined the Akatsuki and she had completed an infinite amount of missions that involved assassinating a lot of people. There were times when it was difficult, as sometimes the biggest of criminals had families, but she knew that if they didn't stop the criminals while they could, the family would just come to suffer. It was missions like that that were usually discarded in Konoha, without her knowing it.

They were currently heading towards Sand, to hand over the dead body to a client as proof of the killing. The man they were currently carrying had taken children from orphanages and experimented on them, giving some of them crude mutations. Sakura felt sick just thinking about it.

Suddenly, a flare of chakra caused Sakura, Itachi and Deidara to stop. Itachi pushed Sakura behind his back, as though guarding her from something he didn't want her to see. But she pushed him out of the way, running forwards to see why they had stopped. Standing in the road, in front of them, was Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and a boy that was extremely pale and had black hair hanging lank in front his eyes.

They walked towards them and Deidara, Itachi and Sakura copied the action, frowns planted on their faces. When they became within speaking distance, Naruto was the first to break the silence.

"Sakura..." He said with awe, observing her clothing. He brought his gaze up to hers, noticing her hostile expression. Kakashi noticed their expressions too and stepped forwards between Sakura and Naruto, raising a hand.

"Sakura, don't worry. We're on strict orders not to harm you," his tone was nice towards her, but it dropped suddenly when his eyes turned to Itachi and Deidara "or them." He continued with dislike. Itachi entwined his hand with Sakura's protectively and knew this went unnoticed by the four shinobi in front of them. Sakura's eyes widened at them.

"You're not allowed to harm us?" She swallowed, looking at them all. "But... we're in the Bingo book. We're Kill On Sight."

Kakashi nodded and moved back, lowering his arm. "Yes, but Tsunade has explained to us why we're not to kill you. We're the only ones that know." He looked at Naruto, gesturing for him to continue the explanation. Naruto grinned at them and Sakura felt a wave of emotion hit her as she remembered just how much she missed his cheeky grin.

"The Akatsuki are good, right?" He stopped grinning, lowering it to a smile. A look of alarm crossed over Deidara's face and he stepped forwards.

"How do you know that, yeah?" He asked, staring hard at him. Naruto kept his eyes on Itachi and Sakura and then Sasuke came forwards to explain.

"We looked through records, done research and set our best minds on the job." Sasuke nodded at Kakashi. "Shikamaru also helped out. It took us two months to figure out that you hadn't actually committed any real crimes."

Sakura swallowed and a slight frown appeared on her brow. "But we will still have other shinobi attacking us. Why not tell the world?"

Deidara opened his mouth to protest against this, but Itachi stepped in. "I assume you know that we wish it left unknown about the reasoning for Akatsuki."

Naruto nodded, as did the others. Deidara sighed with visible relief and shook the man on his shoulder.

"We need to go." He said to Sakura and Itachi. They both nodded and looked back at the Leaf shinobi in front of them. Sakura removed her hand from Itachi's and threw herself forwards, hugging Naruto tightly. Then she moved to Kakashi, Sasuke and even the new boy whom she didn't know.

"I hope we'll meet again." She said sadly to her old teammates. They nodded, expressions of slight sadness, yet also admiration on their faces.

"Goodbye Sakura." Naruto smiled sadly at her. Kakashi gestured goodbye with his hand.

"Brother." Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment and an unheard conversation seemed to dance between them. Sakura joined her hand with Itachi's again and smiled at her old teammates, before jumping back up to a high branch, her eyes blurred with emotional happy tears.

She had left her village, joined a group of S-Rank criminals who were like a family to her, had been listed in the Bingo Book, killed thousands of filthy criminals and had fallen in love with one of the strongest shinobi's in the world.

Sakura Haruno knew – without a doubt – that she was one of the luckiest girls in the world.

Tightening her grip on Itachi's hand, she smiled as a single warm tear trickled down her cheek and fell onto the bracelet and ring that decorated her right hand.

_Yep, _she thought, sniffing slightly. _It's true..._

''_Life changes in way you least expect. And sometimes, that isn't such a bad thing...''_

_**THE END.**_

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**A/N: Wow. I finished it. Noooooooooo. :(**

**I don't care if you hated this chapter. Flame me, set me alight, dance around me naked. I DON'T CARE. I finished it. And now I'm sad. **

**It's been a wild ride, this fanfic has. I've had swine flu, my birthday, christmas, new years, a boyfriend, broken up from said boyfriend and may I say, this has been one hell of an achievement. This was my first mutli-chapter Naruto fic and if I'd have mentioned this in the summary, people would have turned away. Hell, I've had fun writing this. Took me long enough though.**

**NOW onto thank you's!**

**Well, thanks to everyone in general who have stuck with me, right from the beginning. It means so much, really it does. I have to mention one reviewer in particular, because she makes me laugh everytime she gives me a review. I look forward to them so much! And that's:**

**REBELLIOUS-AND-DITZY-BOOKWORM**

**Also, I would like to thank NAT19TH for the long reviews that also make me smile. :)**

**More special thanks to: xXxSpazasticxXx, Shade of the Ace, Gothic Raven, XeniaKunoichi, Sachiko Haruki, Sakuramaka, Diamonarie and Blackrose74 who have reviewed almost every chapter and given me a lot of lovely reviews.**

**Sorry to anyone who was left out.**

**I've started another ItaSakura story, Snowbows, but it may be a little shorter than this one. Here is the summary: Sakura is a temporary missing-nin, hostage to Itachi Uchiha. Fate listened to her thoughts and now she's on the run with the last person she'd choose to be with. Can Sakura escape? Or has Fate got something a little more up its sleeve...**

**THANK YOU AGAIN. To all my reviewers, and I hope your support will continue with Snowbows. :)**

**Goodnight, peace out.**

**Cylinder ;D**


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